Hum Log was the first soap opera to be telecasted on Indian television, and the instant choice of the telecast was only Doordarshan DD National (DD1) in 1984. Actor Ashok Kumar used to discuss the story and ongoing episodes after the serial was over. He used to use some interesting jokes and humor. The serial had a run for 156 episodes.
Manohar Shyam Joshi conceived the story, and P. Kumar Vasudev directed it. It is believed that the serial was shot in indoor mostly at a studio near Gurgaon. The beautiful story of a middle-class Indian family spoke primarily on their struggles and aspirations. The episode sketched a middle-class family of 1980s very well. Every character, be it a Suchitra (Srivastava) Chitale as Lajo or Lajwanti or even Sushma Seth who played the role of a grandmother became the household name.
The cast included Vinod Nagpal who played the role of Basesar Ram as an alcoholic father or even her spouse played by Jayshree Arora who played the role of ‘Baghwanti’. The family had two brothers and three sisters who aspired to become something in life. For instance, the eldest son Lalloo played by Lalit Prasad is an unemployed in the family. Abhinav Chaturvedi played the role of youngest son (Chander Prakash) who wants to become a cricketer.
Seema Bhargav was the eldest daughter (Badki or Gunvanti) who is a social worker. Divya Seth (second daughter) played the role of Rupvanti or Majhli and wanted to become an actress. The third daughter role was played by Loveleen Mishra (Chhutki) who wanted to become a doctor. There was also a character of grandfather played by Lahiri Singh. Once, the second daughter runs away from home with a boy. Here forms the contention in the family. What happens later, only the serial can say.
Initially, it was a 30-minute serial, but later when the series was coming to an end, the episode was lengthened to one-hour duration. The serial created a history in Indian television industry. Music was scored by Anil Biswas and it was aired on Doordarshan in 1984.