Gul Gulshan Gulfam is counted as amongst one of the first and finest tv shows to be broadcasted on Doordarshan DD National (DD1) in 1991. The series was very popular and went on for 45 episodes. It is a beautiful story of a Kashmiri family which is desperately clinging on to the previous glory of the family's past.
They run their livelihood by their three houseboats they have from their previous generations. But their profits and livelihood are threatened due to terror attacks happening in Kashmir. Tourism declines in Dal lake. It shows a very calm and serene journey through the everyday lives of the inhabitants of the area.
Haji Abdul Khalik is an honest guy living in Srinagar with his family. He has three sons each looking after one houseboat of the three he has. The eldest son Noor is looking after the houseboat Gul. He is a lovely guy, and his wife is also very gracious. Gulam is the second lad who believes he could earn more profits if he had an orchard of apples. He always tries to do a business out of the money he gets. He is very business minded. He loves his wife very much, and so does she. Kadir is the youngest of Abdul's sons. He is a keen learner and fast in making decisions. His wife loves him a lot, but she complains about him being too busy usually all of the time.
Parveen is the youngest of all children, the only daughter of Abdul. The show's name 'Gul' means 'flower,' 'Gulshan' means 'garden' and 'Gulfam' means 'gardener.' The show's director is Ved Rahi. The main cast includes Radha Seth, Parikshit Sahni, Pankaj Berry, N. K. Phull, Kanwaljit Singh, Neena Gupta and Kunal Khemu. The film reveals the life of an average Kashmiri inhabitant. Their heart breaks over the state of Kashmir and their security issues. They live a terrible life, in the end, fighting the odds against everyone.
Everyone loved the show, no doubt Kashmiri televisions were never switched off from 9 pm to 9:30 pm. The show became so popular that even Sahara TV rebroadcasted it in 2002. And still, it was watched by many. All appreciated the acting of the actors portraying the characters. The show enjoyed a superb run and still resides in the hearts of many.