''Ek Tha Rusty'' is a

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

show based on the stories of writer

Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author. His first novel, ''The Room on the Roof'', published in 1956, received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books ...

, broadcast in 1995 (season 1), 2012-2013 (season 2) and 2014-2015 (season 3). Produced and directed by Shubhadarshini Singh, the show starred Zarul-, Nadira, Pankaj Berry, Raj Zutshi, Ayub Khan, Vipul Gupta, Bhanu Uday, Suhasini Mulay. For seasons 2 and 3, actors Vipul Gupta and Bhanu Uday played the role of grown up Rusty. Ruskin Bond, the author of Rusty and other short stories for children presented seasons 2 and 3 of the show and appeared in the beginning and end of each episode. The series was semi-autobiographical, as many of the stories adapted were incidents and experiences from Ruskin Bond's life.

Synopsis

Season 1, aired in 1995, was about a ten-year-old boy Rusty, his life at a boarding school and his friends, family in

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. This season was set in 1930s, when India was under

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

. Season 2 shows the time when Rusty is about 30 years of age and a struggling writer. It is set in 1960s, when Rusty has returned from England, to live in Mulberry Cottage, Mussoorie. Season 2 had Vipul Gupta playing a 30 years old Rusty. It included ten of Bond's stories - ''Love is a sad song, Sensualist, Dead Man's Gift, Last Time I saw Delhi, Hanging at Mango'', ''Who Killed the Rani?, Dead Man's Gift, Binya Passes By, Last Time I Saw Delhi, From Small Beginnings and At Greens Hotel,'' along with his novel ''Maharani.'' It was shot in

Mussoorie Mussoorie () is a hill station and a municipal board, in Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the national capital of New Delhi. The hil ...

and

. Season 3 had Bhanu Uday playing a 35 years old Rusty. It included Bond’s stories - ''The Sensualist, Time Stops at Shamli'' and ''Shooting at Mango Top''. The show was shot in

. Bond’s granddaughter (from his adopted family in Mussoorie) Shristi, also acted in the show. Set in 1960s Ek tha Rusty Seasons 2 and 3 are shot in the beautiful woods and snowy hills, where alongside interesting stories, some of beautiful tracks are also featured; including "Hawaon ki dhun and Zindagi keraye ka ghar hai".

References

{{reflist DD National original programming 1995 Indian television series debuts Television shows set in the British Raj Television shows set in Uttarakhand 2015 Indian television series endings Television shows based on Indian novels