From Dilip Joshi Aka Jethalal on missing Disha Vakani to Mayur Vakani Aka Sundar getting emotional; Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah cast recall their 17 years journey

As the iconic sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah completes 17 years, the cast and crew took a heartfelt trip down memory lane. Dilip Joshi, who plays the iconic Jethalal, opened up about how much he misses working with Disha Vakani, fondly remembering their on-screen bond. He also addressed his comic chemistry with Babita ji (played by Munmun Dutta), clarifying that while their scenes bring laughter, he always ensures to walk the fine line between innocence and vulgarity. Meanwhile, producer Asit Kumarr Modi acknowledged the challenge of bringing back the character of Dayaben, stating that it’s not easy to find someone who can recreate the same magic. Mayur Vakani, who plays Sundar and is Disha Vakani’s real-life brother, got emotional remembering his sister, expressing how much her absence is felt. The team also reflected on the 17-year-long journey of the show and the deep connection it has formed with audiences across generations. (Photo: Instagram)

Shyam Pathak: The credit of being unmarried goes to Asit Kumarr bhai kyunki woh 17 saal se mujhe harr roz bachelore feel karwa rahe hain...I spent 12 hours of my day on the sets and it makes me feel I'm a bachelor. But jokes apart, there have been incidents when people have approached me with marriage proposal. Mujhe bola gaya hai agar shaadi naa hui ho, toh humare paas hai sukanya Popatlal ke liye... (Photo: Instagram)

Tanuj Mahashabde Aka Mr Iyer: First of all I would like to thank, Asit Kumarr Modi ji for giving me this role. I still remember when he called me to his office for the first time to offer this role, he told me one thing, he said, "Main tujhe woh de raha hoon, joh teri kundali mein nahi hai...woh mujhe mil toh gaya par uss par bahot logon ki nazar hai..bus yehi mera Jethalal se problem hai. (everyone starts laughing)." (Photo: Instagram)

Working on Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been a great experience. I come from Ahmedabad in the show and I still remember an incident when someone overtook my bike from behind at a place called 'Lakadiya pull' and warned me to not play Sundar's role the way I portray as he felt I'm harming the image of people from Ahmedabad. A lot of brother-in-law's felt that I'm portraying them all in a wrong way. People follow the show so closely, they have got attached with the show. (Photo: Instagram)

Mayur Aka Sundar gets emotional, he says, "I am very thankful to Asit Kumarr Modi, Dilip sir and the entire team that they have made me a part of this show. I have been doing theatre since childhood with my sister and we had a long journey of acting together. Mayur got emotional and said, "Thank you Asit sir for helping me to continue the journey of acting together my sister on the small screen. Aisa kisko chance milta hai ke woh apne behan ke saath itni lambi journey tay kare. Even today my sister is not part of the show but I'm still here working." (Photo: Instagram)

He added, "By god's grace I got the opportunity to work with my sister on the show and I thoroughly enjoyed. Dilip sir, my sister and I had so many scenes together. Behan ke saath kaam karte karte aage badha iss journey mein. I would like to thank everyone from the cast and the audiences who continue to shower love on us. Not every actor gets a family like this and I feel blessed. I miss my sister on this occasion and this journey has been an amazing one." (Photo: Instagram)

We definitely miss Disha Vakani. We have together from 2008 to 2017 after which she left, so it's a long time and I think we have done some iconic scenes together. We both have been drama artists and have Gujarati theatre background. We got along since day one aur humari chemistry ekdum jam gayi thi..and the scenes and scripts we got to perform together, they were written so beautifully, we just added our tadka and performed the scenes. As an actor I definitely miss her a lot kyunki woh joh ek mazaa tha chemistry thi, scenes joh aate the... woh miss kar raha hoon definitely. (Photo: Instagram)

I have been very conscious about Jethalal's bond and chemistry with Babita Ji. I'm always conscious about maintaining the thin line between vulgarity, obscenity and innocence and not crossing it. In fact, I remember an incident that during the initial days, we visited an old age home in Ahmedabad where there were many aging grandmothers, who were fans of the show and they told us they love watching TMKOC. They told me "Aap jis tarike se babitaji bolte ho, humko bahot mazaa aata hai." I was surprised after hearing the compliment as they were quite old, I felt they would be orthodox, but instead they liked the bond. Main dara hua tha ke agar dekha jaaye toh ye ek samajh ke taur par ye ek alag rishta, but they liked the innocence and they did not perceive it in a wrong way. That's when I felt as writers and actors we are going in the right direction. It is a very thin line, and every time it is like walking on a tight rope. (Photo: Instagram)

Laughter is the best medicine and when you get to do a show like this because of your destiny and luck, why will you ever want to leave it. I met so many big Bollywood actors at parties and they would ask me, "How is it going?" I would tell them "bus sir naukri chal rahi hai". In return they told me, "Arre bhai harr actor ko aapki jaisi naukri mile." There are so many brilliant actors who have skill but they don't have work. And with God's grace we all have got a show through which we can show our talent to the audience worldwide. We are living in such a faced-paced world that nobody has time for each other but when we meet unknown people, they have a huge smile on their faces, what else can you ask? Bhagwan ki krupa hai joh itna bada kaam diya hai humein, where will we go leaving this show. It will be a foolish decision to quit the show. (Photo: Instagram)

Challenges are part and parcel of show making. Everyday, there is some or the other issue on the sets. Yes, but of course Dayaben not being part of the show is a big challenge. Disha has performed the show in such a way that she has made the character extremely popular and now finding an actor of same the caliber, is a huge challenge and difficulty. She has left a lasting impression on the minds of the people. I hope we find someone who can do justice to the role, because Disha ji can't do the role because of her responsibilities as a mother. We would love to bring her back on the show, but it is not possible. I would like to mention that without Daya's character also we are able to run the show, my team has supported me a lot especially, Jethalal, Bapuji. Daya ke saath harabhara rehta hai sets. I keep assuring the audience that we will get Daya back, I hope I'm able to bring the character back soon. (Photo: Instagram)