11th May 2023, Mumbai: Unquestionably, one of the sitcoms on Indian television with the longest runs is Taraak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. The performance, which Asit Modi produces, has been enthralling audiences for almost 15 years and continues to do so. Taraak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, while being one of the most popular serials, frequently made news for the wrong reasons and surprised viewers. There have been numerous occasions when the cast of the programme and the audience have accused the makers of everything from sexual harassment to unpaid bills.
Following are 5 occurrences when Taraak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah made headlines:
Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal claims that Asit Modi has harassed her sexually:
Asit Modi, the producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah, was lately the target of surprising charges from Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal, who is known for playing Mrs. Roshan Singh Sodhi. Jennifer alleged that Asit Modi had made sexual advances towards her while speaking to Etimes TV. Asit Modi has repeatedly made sexual approaches towards me in the past, the woman claimed. I initially disregarded all of his advice out of concern that I would lose out on work. But enough is enough, and I won’t put up with it any longer. The executive producer and project head humiliated her in front of the crew.
Asit Modi, the project’s director Sohail Ramani, and executive producer Jatin Bajaj are the targets of her lawsuit. Jennifer’s final day of work was March 6, and she stopped filming for the show months ago. The actress, also known as Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, claims that the film’s environment is “male-chauvinistic” because the leaves were only changed for the male players, not her. Jennifer’s requests for leaves were still turned down even after she had been involved with the show for 15 years; once, the producers even stopped her car and locked the gate to the sets to make her report for duty.
Shailesh Lodha pursues legal action to obtain unpaid debts:
Due to a falling out with the show’s creator Asit Modi, Shailesh Lodha, who played Taarak Mehta in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, left the show in the middle of production in April 2022. According to a number of publications in January 2023, Shailesh has been awaiting his payment for more than six months. Shailesh recently made the decision to use the legal system to obtain his outstanding money. He sued the production company of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah director Asit Kumar Modi and filed a lawsuit against him for unpaid debts. As Asit Modi was unable to pay his debts, Shailesh contacted the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and started a corporate insolvency resolution under section 9.
Sohail Ramani, the project manager for Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, discussed the issue with a magazine. Shailesh Lodha allegedly ignored multiple requests to sign the paperwork and receive his unpaid balance, according to Sohail. Sohail provided further explanation, stating that each artist, member of staff, and technician must follow a system and fulfil legalities before departing. “No company will release the payment before the formalities are finished,” Sohail said in his conclusion.
Neha Mehta claims that the producers failed to clear her payment:
When Neha Mehta claimed that the producers of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah had failed to pay her wages for the previous six months of her employment, the claim made headlines. After appearing in the show for 12 years as Anjali Mehta, the actress who performed the part left Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah in 2020. The production company responded to her charges with a statement after her interview went viral.
A representative from the programme said that Neha Mehta’s accusations over the unpaid debt had “hurt” producer Asit Modi. The official claimed that while connecting with a portal, the actress wasn’t responding to attempts by the production team to contact her. Additionally, he said that she stopped communicating with the cast and crew after leaving the comedy without telling them. They said that Neha had been “reluctant” to sign the exit paperwork, which is necessary for the production firm to finish the entire payout procedure.
Munmun Dutta used a casteist term:
Munmun Dutta, aka Babita, got involved in another incident when she used a casteist slur in one of her cosmetic tutorial videos. When Munmun was getting ready to film for her video and stated that she wanted to look decent and not like a “bhangi” in one of her vlogs, she was arrested under the SC and ST Act. Rajat Kalsan, convenor of the National Alliance for Dalit Human Rights, filed the FIR after receiving a complaint on May 11, 2021. Munmun apologised and said that the word she used was “misinterpreted” after receiving a lot of backlash on social media for her statement.
“It wasn’t stated with the intention to offend, intimidate, degrade, or harm anyone’s sentiments,” she said. Additionally, she claimed to be “misinformed about the meaning of the word.” Even though this dispute had nothing to do with the show specifically, the audience nonetheless demanded that Munmun be fired from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah because she had offended people’s feelings.
When Amit Bhatt refers to Hindi as the Main language in Mumbai, chaos ensues.
When the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) threatened Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, there was a significant uproar. For those who are unaware, Amit Bhatt, who plays Champaklal, stated that Hindi is Mumbai’s primary language in one of the episodes of the programme. MNS believed that the producers of Taarak Mehta had harmed Maharashtrians’ feelings on purpose, and the party workers threatened to stop the filming. Amit Bhatt and the cast of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah later apologised for accidentally hurting people’s feelings, which put an end to the problem.