The serial Dil Dariya (1988) primarily revolved around Punjab and aired on Doordarshan DD National (DD1). Let's see the scenario of Punjabi culture in that era. The Punjabi culture is still now one of the most sophisticated cultures in India. It holds the record of being the oldest and acute traditional culture in India. Diverging from cuisine, poetry, literature, philosophy, performing arts like dance, singing, the culture is all over an antique culture, still today. That's just a prologue to the play.
The main plot may be jotted down as a tension between two families which still prevails even now. The story was based on two best friends (and neighbours too) hailing from two different religious community, Hindu and Sikh respectively turns into a stringent and tensed relationship due to the tensed atmospheric situations prevailing in Punjab. The plot was unique; bit diverged from the stereotypical romance type. The family pressure, the rural scenario, was perhaps unique to the serials in that phase of time.
The plot was frame and directed by, Mr Lekh Tandon who is perhaps one of the best directors in our film industry till date. The Direction was beautiful, and when I saw it on YouTube I was taken back. Shah Rukh Khan acting remained just like as he acted in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayengi or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Once again, both the direction and acting were fantabulous. People say that it was a turning point of Shah Rukh Khan. But a legend is always born a legend, whether you perform in a film or in a serial. The twist of the story had an amazing aspect. Apart from the acting, the story was always apt with the time, not like these days serial.