Exclusive - Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah's Sachin Shroff on replacing Shailesh Lodha and comparisons with him: He did thorough justice to the role; comparisons never bother me

Sachin Shroff, who took over Shailesh Lodha's role in "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah," has been receiving love from fans and has been warmly welcomed by the audience. However, in an exclusive interview with ETimes TV, Sachin admitted that he initially had reservations. He recently talked about the challenges of filling Shailesh Lodha's shoes, the inevitable comparisons, and more. Sachin also credited his "Asharam" co-star Bobby Deol for encouraging him to accept the role in "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah" and opened up about the bonding between Aashram co-stars. (Photo: Instagram)

When I joined the show I was a little confused whether I should accept the offer or not. I remember I had wrapped up shooting for Ashram and was sitting with Bobby Deol and I told him that I’d been offered this show and he told me it’s a popular show, I think you should go and meet them. I came here, met Asit Kumar ji, we had a few meetings and I joined the show. (Photo: Instagram)

Yes, there was an apprehension about joining the show but Asit Modi our producer answered all my questions and cleared my doubts. He told me that you don’t need to worry and you portray the character as you wish to in your style. We are going to bring in strong topics, our system will be the same. You perform in your own style and I did the same thing. The best part is all my co-stars starting from Dilip Joshi to Sunayana Fozdar who is playing my wife, Tappu Sena, and Bhide, everyone has been very welcoming and loving. (Photo: Instagram)

When I agreed to do the show, it was two days before signing the contract and after informing my family, the next call I made was to Bobby Deol. I told him and he was very happy about it. He gave me his best wishes. (Photo: Instagram)

I come to the set and learn every day. I do something new everyday and all I can say is this is the journey and I’m learning and I’m getting better. I will never say I’ve made my mark. (Photo: Instagram)

I cannot say anything because it’s between the production house and the actors. I’ve never worked with any of them so I can’t say anything. I don’t think I even have the right to comment on it. The production is handling it and as an actor I’m doing my job. I’m very comfortable with what I do and I’ve never had any problems. I get my scripts on time, we have our rehearsals on time and we are well-prepared before going on the sets. (Photo: Instagram)

I don’t focus on other things because then I’ll not be able to do justice to my role and my performance. I remember Asit Kumarr Modi had said when I entered the show that Sachin you might not be accepted as Taarak Mehta by a few people but you don’t focus on those things, you just concentrate on your work, rest everything we will take care of it. That’s what I did. (Photo: Instagram)

Comparisons never bother or affect me. Every actor who has been part of Taarak Mehta has done justice. Shailesh Lodha ji has done thorough justice with the role of Taarak. Whenever there are comparisons I’m fine with it. I feel comparisons should always happen, because Woh agar nahi honge toh dusra actor Aur zyaada mehnat kaise karega. Also, if an actor is playing a role for 14 years and suddenly there is a change, it becomes difficult for the audience to accept it overnight. In this scenario it is very important to have patience, work with full focus and you should not overthink. (Photo: Instagram)

When I did Aashram, we all were together for months and we were mostly together while doing that show. We used to sit together with our scripts and prepare. Slowly, we realised we all are quite similar by nature. Our thought process is similar and we can chat together for hours. During COVID, lockdown, we all used to come on video calls and we would chat for 6/8 hours every day. We used to do that and it happened for months, till the time we did not step out. Literally, our phone's battery would die but we would put it on charging and then talk again. I am glad we still bond the same and nobody has changed, it’s just that we all have got busy with our work. But whenever we have time in hand we get on a video call. (Photo: Instagram)

Yes, I saw Animal and Bobby was fantastic in the film. The best part about him is that he is a sweetheart. Jo maasumiyat unke face par hai Na Woh actually utne masoom hai. So when he plays a character which is so negative, audiences enjoy watching the changeover. (Photo: Instagram)