Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) Veteran actor Shivaji Satam, best known for playing ACP Pradyuman in the iconic television show CID, paid an emotional tribute to its creator and director, BP Singh, following his demise.
Remembering his longtime friend and collaborator, Satam recalled how Singh made television history by directing a 111-minute single-shot episode of CID, exactly eight months after undergoing major heart surgery.
Taking to his social media account, Shivaji shared a lengthy and wholehearted note remembering the filmmaker and his contribution to Indian television. He also shared a collage of pictures featuring BP Singh, including pictures of the filmmaker posing alongside a framed certificate recognising his world record.
In his tribute, Shivaji Satam remembered Singh not just as the creator of one of Indian television’s most popular crime shows but also as a cinematographer, director, screenplay writer, casting director and actor.
Shivaji Satam wrote, “BPSingh set the WORLD RECORD for 111 mins Single Shot Episode of CID & has been proudly noted in The Guiness Book of World Records & The Limca Book of world records and made us feel Proud Indians.”
She added, “One of Televisions greatest technician , an FTII cinematography grad., he was the the DIRECTOR of CID , Cameraman for CID , the Screenplay Writer for CID and on hundreds of occasions , the Casting man too , having casted and created quite a few of our popular hindi film and television actors and directors too …He was the one who selected and created all the Main CHARACTERS OF CID …(sic)”
He further added, “A master craftsman at storytelling ….Always wanting to experiment with the Camera & characters …NOT to forget , he was an Actor too , whose funny cynical sarcastic grey character of DCP Chitrole was as popular amongst the audience as the other characters ….”
Headlining the next part of the caption, he wrote, “BP SINGH , the great(est) creator, cameraman director of EK SHUNYA SHUNYA and CID …no more one of the biggest chapters of my life , is closed forever …”
He added, “he gave Indian Televisions the biggest and most entertaining programmes … 100 ek Shunya Shunya in marathi &. CID the greatest thriller of all times on Indian television ….CID entertained the audiences for nearly 23 years not only in India , but in foreign countries too , where Indians live& the repeat telecast still does the same on various OTT channels ….. …….”
Sharing his deep personal experience, Shivaji wrote, ‘On my personal front , I have lost a very very dear friend , we shared a lot of personal experiences , thoughts … a friend who inspired me , who taught me to shed my inhibitions as an actor and advised me on acting from the camera perspective ( I was mainly from marathi stage ) , about all camera magnifications and why and when to be larger than life and when normal while emoting the character(s) , esp in CID … after pack up such fun wonderful evenings all of us …..”
He added, “A FIGHTER TO THE CORE …. exactly 3 months later after his first heart surgery he was running in the national park jungles taking amazing shots AND THE WORLD RECORD 111 mins SINGLE SHOT Episode exactly 8 Mths after a major heart surgery …. BP You were AMAZING … a real Captain and An ACTORS DIRECTOR …”
He further wrote, “So many things to tell and say about you , the memories we made together are lifelong & full of fun BP… Rest in peace Dear FRIEND About BP Singh’s contribution to Indian television”
Talking about Brijendra Pal Singh, popularly known as BP Singh, he was one of the most influential names in Indian television.
He began his career as a news cameraman with Doordarshan in 1973 after graduating from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He then went on to work on the Marathi detective series Ek Shunya Shunya before creating Aahat in 1995 and CID in 1998.
CID went on to become one of India’s longest-running crime investigation shows, and featured Shivaji Satam as ACP Pradyuman, Dayanand Shetty as Daya and Aditya Srivastava as Abhijeet. Singh also appeared in the show as DCP Shamsher Singh Chitrole, a character that became popular among viewers.
BP Singh passed away on October 27, 2026, at the age of 77 after suffering a massive heart attack.
–IANS
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