9th June 2023, Mumbai: Many former Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah cast members, including Jennifer Mistry, have spoken out about the unhealthy work environment on the set of the programme. Jennifer claimed in a recent interview that the show’s large ensemble of kid performers found it challenging to work such long hours, particularly around exam season.
The children were frequently placed in difficult situations, Jennifer admitted to Bollywood Bubble. “For instance, if we had a night shoot, the kids might shoot at night and study at the same time if they had an exam at 7 am the next morning. The kids would occasionally finish the shoot by 6 am and head straight to school at 7 am. The “kids have sacrificed a lot,” Jenifer stated, before adding, “Maybe they were comfortable with that treatment, maybe it was working for them.”
Jennifer mentioned the late actor Ghanshyam Nayak, who played the character Nattu kaka on the programme, and claimed that he frequently had breakdowns while filming TMKOC. Jennifer explained that she never observed the show’s producer Asit Kumarr Modi acting inappropriately towards Ghanshyam, but she did observe the production manager Sohil Ramani acting inappropriately towards the elder actor. Sohil used to treat Nattu Kaka with a lot of disdain. He has shed so many tears for us all to witness. Nattu Kaka was reportedly heard declaring that Sohil would pay for his sins while crying uncontrollably, according to Monika (Bhadoriya). He was only looking for an off, but Sohil continued pushing him, she said. In October 2021, Ghanshyam Nayak passed away after a protracted fight with cancer.
Sohil was reportedly accused by Jennifer of creating a toxic environment when he attempted to block her car as she was leaving the shoot. She added that when she requested a leave of absence, the team would mentally abuse her. Mistry stated that she has a large amount of unpaid dues with the TMKOC producers after leaving the shoot in March when she accused them of sexual harassment and creating a hostile environment last month. She claimed that the Mumbai Police had informed her that the producers had counter-accused her of trying to extort money from them in response to their FIR.
By Khushboo Singh