NEW DELHI: Family drama Buniyaad that dealt with the aftermath of Partition, with fine actors such as Alok Nath , redefined the way TV shows were made in the eighties and still has lessons to offer to showmakers. But, it seems that director Ramesh Sippy , one of India ’s most esteemed filmmakers, has still not been paid by Doordarshan for it.Aired first in 1986, Buniyaad over the years has been rerun six times on Indian television, proving that its content and characters still strike a chord with the audience. The show had registered over 93 per cent viewership in North India for all the years. It was first aired on DD National that is owned by Doordarshan, after which it was also run on private channels.Recently, the serial was rerun on DD yet again. But top officials said Sippy who directed the show had not been paid a single penny for the venture. DD officials said there were confusions over details of the transaction and so fresh arbitration with Sippy had started a few years ago, but a solution was not reached.Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar told ET that he had ordered a probe into the matter. "There is more to this than meets the eye. We want to know what really happened. It was unfortunate that this happened." Prasar Bharati is the autonomous body that comprises Doordarshan and All India Radio.It was sad that veteran directors have had to run from pillar to post at Doordarshan for their rightful money, Sircar said. "As of now, at least the first Rs 46 lakh that we owe him has been approved. We are finding out how much more is owed to him. Also, the probe will find out why these delays happen, who is responsible for them and what should be done to fix them."Directed by Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti Sarup, the Buniyaad series was written by Manohar Joshi who was also the script writer of Hum Log, yet another iconic show on DD. The show had some brilliant actors, including Anita Kanwar, Kiran Juneja, Asha Sachdev, Dalip Tahil , Kanwaljit Singh and Neena Gupta , who went on to become big names in the industry in the subsequent years.Recently, Doordarshan went for a new revenue-sharing model in auction of its slots for shows to attract major producers and advertisers. In a way, it has shunned its old policy of acquiring content through the commissioning mode. "Doordarshan’s major hit series like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Hum Log, Buniyaad and Chandrakanta were produced through the slot-sale method. But private producers have to trust the national broadcaster with their money for that. Payment delays for years and decades, especially to good shows, put the producers off," a senior official said.Sources said only 30 popular producers had signed up for the auction that was held recently and that more could have participated had the government organised interactive sessions between them and officials about how the process had been made transparent now. "The problem is some people in DD still run licence raj, forcing good producers to run around for their money. That is why most refrain from giving their shows to us. And this reflects on the quality of the channel," the official said.