Hip Hip Hurray turns 20: Lesser known facts about the show

As Hip Hip Hurray which was first aired on August 21 in 1998 completes 20 years today, we thought it's the opportune time to talk about the campus drama. The show ran from 1998 to 2001 and is hailed till date as one of the most popular shows of Indian Television. Let's take a look at the lesser known facts about the show. (Credit: Bushra Fatima)

Actor Vinay Pathak, who played Vincent sir on the show, was also the man who penned lyrics for the series. He's surely a jack of all trades and master of some.

We bet you didn't notice that Suchitra Pillai and Samantha Tremayne, who were seen as teacher-student in Hip Hip Hurray, shared screen years later in Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai. Who would have seen this coming?

It will be news to most that the series was actually shot in St. Mary's High School in Mazgaon, Mumbai.

KK and Hema Sardesai, who sang the iconic title track, reunited years later to crooned a track in the film Khushi titled 'Haye re'.

Film producer Ronnie Screwvala, who has films like Khoobsurat, Barfi!, Himmatwala and Satyagraha, to name a few, to his credit was also the producer of this epic series. The show wouldn't have seen the light of day if he was not involved.

The Nirjara of the film Tere Naam starred in the first episode of the series. Later she was replaced by another actress on the show as film offers had started pouring in.

Nupur Asthana, the co-director of the show went on to direct Zee TV's miniseries Time Bomb with Ketan Mehta and films like Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge and Bewakoofiyaan.

Other shows that were made on similar lines failed to live up to the benchmark set by Hip Hip Hurray. Remix (2004-2006) and Campus (1993) were two of the few shows that failed to enjoy the popularity that 'HHH' did.

Purab Kohli, who essayed the role of Mazhar on the show, had shared with a leading daily that the cast is connected on a Whatsapp group, called 'HHH group' and that they chat regularly.