Did you know Jennifer Aniston’s ‘Friends’ had an Indian adaptation ‘Hello Friends’ starring Simone Singh, Cyrus Broacha? |

The iconic American sitcom ‘Friends’, which catapulted Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry to global stardom, had an Indian adaptation.
Titled ‘Hello Friends‘ the Hindi-language sitcom premiered in September 1999 and ran for just one season which comprised of 26 episodes. Like the many Bollywood film adaptations, this Indian version of the hit sitcom followed the same premise, revolving around six young friends navigating life, love, and careers while spending time at a cafe.
Unlike other remakes that change the essence of the original, ‘Hello Friends’ maintained the look of the 6 characters various other aspects of the show. The cast included Simone Singh, who played the role of Sanjana, aka Monica Geller, while Cyrus Broacha played the role of Cyrus, the Indian counterpart to Chandler Bing. Aparna Tilak, on the other hand, played Nisha, the Indian version of Rachel Green, she starred opposite Nikhil Chinapa’s Vikram, who doubled up as Ross Geller while Maria Goretti played the role of Penny, aka Phoebe Buffay and Anil Dimri played the Indian version of Joey Tribbiani, called Rahul.

Unlike ‘Friends’, which became a global phenomenon, ‘Hello Friends’ struggled to gain traction. Viewers found the show’s humour and performances lacking the authenticity and chemistry that made the original a classic. Over the past weeks, videos of the show have resurfaced online, with many rediscovering it through YouTube clips and other social media videos.
Reacting to the videos, fans of the American sitcom expressed their shock saying, “As a fan of FRIENDS I can’t bear this torture…. ouch my eyesss.”
Another said, “it’s like every character is J A N I C E.”
“They “TRIED” and made the worst thing possible out of it,” commented another.
Another quipped, “They just google translated whole damn show…”