Why I Cringe At TMKOC, A Show I Loved Watching While Growing Up

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is a sitcom that helped me get through some tough days as I laughed uncontrollably watching the show growing up. We used to sit together to watch the episodes and have a good laugh at the bickering of the characters, especially Jetha Lal and Daya. Then the comic timings of Champak Lal would make us roll on the floor with laughter. My siblings and I  used to watch a few episodes on repeat just to witness the comedy on a loop. However, as I gained more sense while adulting, I realised what I was watching was a mockery of common sense. I cannot watch the show now that only reeks of sexism. 

Apart from the women bashing the show boasts of, the recent case of sexual harassment against producer Asit Modi, which the show's former actor Jennifer Mistry, who played the role of Mrs Roshan Sodhi, won made me more confident in my decision to discontinue watching the show. Mistry had also added in her lawsuit that everyone on the show is a 'bonded labour'. When she was pregnant, she didn't want to leave the show. However, she was sacked because Gurucharan Singh, the actor who played her on-screen husband, quit. 

Other controversies against TMOK

This is not a single controversy against TMKOC. Monika Bhadoria who played Bawari in the show also alleged that the makers treat their actors very poorly. "They treat us like dogs," she claimed. She said, "They usually halt everyone's money and when I left, they also stopped my payment, which was given after 1 year. I used to fight a lot; I used to go to the office frequently and they never met, and they always told the team to inform me that they weren't there." She also said, "I had said that I do not want to work in such negativity. They threatened, 'Do you think if you leave this show, I will let you work somewhere?'"

Priya Ahuja, the famous Rita Reporter in the show, also shared her worst experience while working with the makers. She believed that her character was overlooked. When she tried to reach out to Asit Modi to inquire about her role, he didn't answer her calls. But when he did, he gave a very sexist reply. He said, "Why do you want to earn? Sit at home like a Queen. Your husband is earning." Ironically, Ahuja's husband, Malav Rajda Ahuja, is one of the makers of the show.

Recently, the show has seen many actors walking out. Starting from Daya Ben, Tappu to Taarak Mehta and Anjali. It's like the show now carries an entirely new cast. 

How my perception changed 

After coming across this reality behind the utopian world of TMKOC, it has become difficult to believe in anything. The show that has been vocal about social issues doesn't care about the security of its actors. The episodes about women empowerment now seem shallow when the makers harass the female actors of the show. The comedy which made my father once say, "How can people be so happy? This can never happen in the real world" is a mask over years of exploitation and subversion.

But did any of these allegations and controversies affect the running of the show? No. The show still broadcasts at its usual time. The show's plot which thrives on mocking women, making fun of skin colour, or glorifying a married man having a crush on a married woman, makes it easier for me to not watch it anymore. 

As children, we digest almost anything. But as adults, it is our responsibility to introspect and question what we once normalised.      

Views expressed are the author's own.