Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actress Jennifer Mistry makes a shocking claim; says 'Disha Vakani will never return to the show'

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is one of the most loved sitcoms on Indian television. The show has been ruling the hearts of viewers for the last 17 years and has given us some of the industry's most popular actors. One of them is Disha Vakani, who is best remembered for her portrayal of Dayaben. However, the actress has been missing from the show since 2017 when she went on maternity leave. Reports of Disha's comeback have often surfaced over the past 9 years, but the actress has not returned to the show. Now, former Taarak Mehta actress Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal has made a shocking claim about Dayaben’s return. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Jennifer stated that Disha Vakani is unlikely to return to the show, and called the reports of her comeback a marketing move.

Jennifer said, "It’s all part of a marketing strategy, how else will they keep the audience engaged and create hype? When I was on the show."

Jennifer who earlier played Roshan Singh Sodhi on the show claimed Disha won't return, stating, “Yes, Disha Vakani is not coming back to the show. They will continue using her photos as part of their marketing strategy. At one point, she was actually supposed to return. She had even spoken to us about it in 2021 and said she was coming back. In fact, her shoot was scheduled to begin the very next day. She had come in, tried on costumes, and everything was set. But after that, I don’t know what happened. What went on behind the scenes is still unclear.”

Jennifer went on to share how a girl from Delhi was almost finalised to replace Disha Vakani, she shared, "There was a girl from Delhi who used to come for auditions. She was kept on hold for almost two years for the role of Dayaben. They even did a mock shoot with her. She was a perfect fit for Dayaben. If you didn’t see her face, you couldn’t tell the difference. But she was around 27–28 years old, and that became an issue. She looked too young opposite Dilip Joshi, so they didn’t bring her into the show.”

Disha Vakani played the role of Jethalal's wife Dayaben and was part of the show from 2008 to 2017.