A trademark of the "Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi" were the characters played by Satish Shah from Episode 1 to Episode 54. In each episode, Shah played a different character who played a key role in the plot. These characters would be from many professions and regions of India, with some being close family friends of the Vermas and others being total strangers. During the period 1984-86 Satish was anointed as "King of Comedy" by the entertainment media as a direct consequence of the multitude of characters that he played on the show.