Rasode Mein Kaun Tha: How A Rap Turned Kokilaben And Her Bahus Into Internet Sensations

If you don't live under a rock, chances are you'd have come across the words 'rasoda' and 'chana' and 'cooker' more often than usual these past two days on the internet. They have been trending non-stop on Twitter and finding cryptic mentions on Instagram stories. And this is all courtesy a remix video fashioned out of an obscure scene of a long lost television serial from ten years ago.

On August 20, music producer Yashraj Mukhate posted a jam on his social media accounts, wherein he had set a scene from the daily soap Saath Nibhaana Saathiya to keyboard music, harmonising along with the dialogues of its female characters. His video soon went viral, amassing over four million views on Instagram.

The scene in question is nothing out of the ordinary when placed within the larger context of Hindi daily soaps in general. Kokilaben, the family matriarch, is playing detective to try and find out who emptied the cooker of chana and placed it on the stove in her rasoda (kitchen), which had led to an explosion in the house. In her trademark angry drawl, added to by her eyes bulging with fury, she asks her bahus Rashi and Gopi the landmark question - Rasode mein kaun tha?

Here is the wonderful video in question:

View this post on Instagram

First World Problems • Made Kokila Ben sing this time • I love doing harmonies, enjoyed this one a lot • Kahi share karoge toh credits zaroor dena. Aapke pyaar ke liye bohot saara dhanyawaad!♥️♥️♥️ #dialoguewithbeats #kokilaben #gopibahu #rashi #cooker #saathnibhanasaathiya #yashrajmukhate #ymstudios

A post shared by Yashraj Mukhate (@yashrajmukhate) on Aug 20, 2020 at 8:51am PDT

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Yashraj Mukhate On Getting A Call From The Real Kokilaben

The cast of Saath Nibhaana Saathiya wouldn't have, in their wildest dreams, imagined when they premiered in 2010 that they would reach iconic status many years later, all because a musician remixed their dialogues. And neither did 24-year old Mukhate predict the unprecedented fame that would come from crooning along to Kokilaben's voice. His follower count has quadrupled on Instagram in just a matter of four days, currently standing at 409K.

Talking to Indian Express, he said, "I haven’t slept for the last two days as I have been consistently getting calls." But the cherry on the cake came when Kokilaben herself called him. He said, "I was so taken aback when last evening, Kokilaben (Rupal Patel) called me on my personal number. It was an unbelievable experience as I never expected the video would reach her."

Explaining the reason for his choice of this particular scene, Mukhate said, "The dialogue already had a rhythm to it... Since they (people) have loved this format, I will work on it more." There's another similar video where Mukhate has added music to actor Rakhi Sawant's words that fans are loving.

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Netizens Are Having A Field Day With Memes And Mimicry

If the extent of the mania is anything to go by, the woman of the moment, Rashiben, has clearly overthrown Binod from his coveted throne of being the hottest meme trend. Social media is abuzz with fan theories of why Rashi went to the rasoda and removed the chana from the cooker, and also why Gopi bahu ratted Rashi out. Netizens are having a field day making memes out of this scene made evergreen by Mukhate's catchy tune.

People are reproducing the rap and its dialogues with unique renditions in different formats. Actor Srishti Shrivastava uploaded a video of herself dancing to Mukhate's creation. Meanwhile, viral content creator Ronit Ashra, who imitates popular celebrities, contributed to this laughter riot with a video mimicking the entire scene, complete with Kokilaben's characteristic kajal and sindoor. 

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Kokilaben Will Go Down In History As One Of The Greats

But fame hasn't come to the cast of Saath Nbibhana Sathiya overnight. The show and its titular character Gopi, played by Giaa Manek, have been the subject of memes for a long time now. Social media first took notice of her when a ">clip from the show surfaced, which showed her washing - yes, washing - a laptop with detergent and water. And then blissfully hanging the soaking wet laptop on the clothesline, much to the delight of her adversary Rashi (who was always trying to one-up the innocent Gopi) and the disbelief of her husband Ahem ji. 

Don't ask me why I know so much detail, I just do.

This bahu battle in Kokilaben Modi's legendary household has deservingly carved space for itself on the shelves of pop culture. Despite the short seven-year run of the daily soap, it will be preserved in the books for years to come, passing on from generation to generation the historic mystery of who, after all, was in the rasoda that day.

Picture Credit: Yashraj Mukhate/ Instagram

Views expressed are the author's own.