CID (Indian TV series)

Cast

Shivaji Satam portrayed ACP Pradyuman from 1998 to 2018 and again from 2024 to 2025. Initially referred to as Sr. Inspector Pradyuman, he was promoted to ACP in the episode "The Case of the Thief Within – I". His full name, ACP Pradyuman Naik Satam, was revealed in "CID Par Grahan – II".

Dinesh Phadnis played Inspector Fredricks, also called Freddy Banerjee, from 1998 to 2018. He first appeared in "Kissa Raat Ke Shikhar Ka – I" and began his role as Sub-Inspector in "The Case of the Third Man – I", where he was initially referred to as Sub Inspector Prince, Michael, or Joseph before being called Fredricks from "The Case of the Last Five Minutes – I". Dayanand Shetty played Sr. Inspector Daya Gowda from 1998 to 2018 and again from 2024 to 2025. He first appeared as Sub Inspector Daya in "The Case of the Anonymous Threats – I" and was later referred to as Senior Inspector Daya.

Narendra Gupta played Dr. R. P. Salunkhe, debuting in "The Case of the Incomplete Letter" as Dr. Verma, then as Dr. Salunkhe from "The Case of the Burnt Letter – I". He appeared from 1998 to 2003, 2005, 2007 to 2018, and again from 2024 to 2025. Aditya Srivastava played Sr. Inspector Abhijeet Reddy, first appearing as Paresh in "The Case of the Stolen Gun" and then as Inspector Abhijeet from "The Case of the Stolen Dynamite – I".

He appeared in 1998, from 1999 to 2018, and from 2024 to 2025. Shraddha Musale played Dr. Tarika Gowda from 2007 to 2018 and in 2025, debuting in "The Don's Final Revenge" and re-entering season 2 through "Death in the Jungle". Ansha Sayed played Inspector Purvi Akkineni, first seen in episodic roles before her first episode as Sub-Inspector Purvi in "Kissa Paagal Ashiq Kaa". She appeared from 2006 to 2008, 2011 to 2018, and 2024 to 2025.

Hrishikesh Pandey played Inspector Sachin Das from 2010 to 2016 and in 2025, first appearing as Siddharth in "Khooni Deewar" and later revealed as Inspector Sachin in "Maut ka Aashirwad". He re-entered season 2 through "Gilheri Rakshas" and also played Inspector Abhimanyu in CID Special Bureau. Ajay Nagrath played Inspector Pankaj Rao from 2012 to 2018 and from 2024 to 2025, debuting in "CID Par Grahan – III".

Episodes

CID Special Bureau, a Hindi spinoff series, premiered on 3 January 2005 and ended on 2 March 2006 with 168 episodes. It initially aired on Monday and Tuesday nights, splitting each case into two episodes. Three cases—"Bullet .11mm", "Mad Bomber", and "Anokha Intequam"—had crossover episodes with CID. From 29 August 2005, the series aired four days a week, with each case split across four episodes.

CID Chhote Heroes, another sub-series, premiered on 1 February 2013 and ended on 24 May 2013 with 17 episodes. It aired on Friday nights, with each case shown in a single episode. Two cases, "Daya in Danger" and "Little Comedian Kidnapped", had crossover episodes with CID.

Production

CID was created by producer B. P. Singh, who co-produced it with Pradeep Uppoor under Fireworks Production. Singh stated that the premise was "Seven cops and one dead body" and that all episodes were based around this fact. The second season was produced by Deepak Dhar, Rajesh Chadhaa, Akshay Singh, and B. P. Singh under Banijay Asia. The series was primarily shot in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and also in locations across India including Delhi, Ahmedabad, Agra, Mathura, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kullu, Manali, Matheran, Satara, Kolkata, and Mahabaleshwar.

Foreign locations included Uzbekistan, London, Paris, and Switzerland, with a major Paris–Switzerland shoot for the two-hour special episode "Aakhri Chunauti". On 7 November 2004, CID entered both the Limca Book of Records and the Guinness Book of World Records for a single-shot episode of 111 minutes titled "The Inheritance" without a cut. The first season aired on Sony Entertainment Television, and the series also aired on Sony Max after going off air. It currently re-airs on Sony Pal, Sony Wah, Sony Max, Sony Aath, and Sony Marathi.

Reception

Rediff.com gave the series 4.5 out of 5 stars, crediting much of its success to B. P. Singh and the cast, particularly Shivaji Satam. The same outlet noted that the core cast had become household names. Rahul Hegde of Rediff stated that the crime detective series was still going strong. The Times of India noted that CID entertained viewers with unique cases and was known for internet jokes.

Kristina Das of India Today, in a 2020 retrospective, wrote that the show had a cult following and that non-viewers also showed interest, though episodes were sometimes dragged with lengthy dialogues. The first season was one of the most viewed series on Indian television, with an average TRP rating of 3 to 3.5 for several years. The second season received lukewarm responses with an average TRP rating of 0.8, but it got a huge response on Netflix and Sony LIV and remained in the top ten TV shows on Netflix, also becoming the top-rated scripted show.

Did You Know?

• CID had crossover episodes with the series Aahat, Adaalat, and Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.