The 6th edition of the India Kids Summit brought together some of the most esteemed industry panel experts to engage in interesting conversations which ranged from talking about the markets that cater around kids, the content they consume and much more, empowering the youth, brands and much more.

One of the important topics for the same that was discussed was how Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, one of the biggest shows on Indian television, is betting big in the kids genre. Siddhartha Laik, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, IWMBuzz Media moderated an insightful fireside chat with Asit Kumarr Modi, Founder of Neela Film Productions & Neela Mediatech.

Excerpts from the conversation-

Siddhartha: Sir, please tell us why do you think Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is still successful?

Asit: We are now in our 17th year and the only motivation is that people love us, people laugh with us. The show airs 6 days a week. We are working hard every day. We work on the story a lot and create stories surrounding the characters. We don’t deviate from the characters at all. We observe so many changes in trends these days. No social media, no OTT. Everything has changed immensely now. We are trying to keep up with the audience’s expectations and changing times as well. The brands also come to us happily and Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is a habit for everyone.

Siddhartha: Do you ever feel to satisfy brands, you have to compromise the core?

Asit: Our core – entertaining the audience with a social message – we don’t deviate from that. The brands who come in know that and we make sure to never compromise from that.

Siddhartha: What do you have to say about the controversial take of adult comedy and how it is impacted lately?

Asit: Comedy is very delicate. Sometimes, a person’s tongue slips, it becomes a problem. There are ways – adult comedy or double-meaning comedy – but I don’t want to comment on that. We at TMKOC make sure to never happen. There was this one instance when something in one of the episodes was misconstrued and became a thing – but we didn’t shy away from apologizing. The show should appeal to the entire country and everyone who is watching it from a small kid to the eldest person. Some people like adult comedy, some people like satire – that’s their preference.

Siddhartha: In kids genre, how are you expanding it?

Asit: In India, no one has expanded a successful show into other avenues and brands – into a universe. This has been done abroad but not in India. A popular show and characters being made into a universe is never done but with TMKOC, we have managed to create that huge spread across the nation from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Hence, we created animation and it always stays. Animation market is struggling in one way or another – but after this struggle, we are certain to see a huge boom in this animation market in India. We haven’t made enough Indian characters in animation. Over 15 million subscribers have subscribed to our animation channels, our rhymes. Even though, these kids today are learning in English medium, but we are talking about our own languages and that is incredibly important. We have thought about a lot and not encashed on the popularity; but mostly on doing good work and which will lead ahead. We also have games – Gada Electronics. It already has 5 million downloads. We don’t promote it at all except ground level or in our show. Both kids and adults enjoy the game and we have tried to make it interactive. There are other games like Run Jetha Run, Hungry Goli and more. We are also soon launching Popatlal Ki Shaadi soon. Then there’s licensing and merchandise – t-shirts, mugs and so on with our iconic dialogues and sayings. We also have Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah playschool. We keep talking about how to behave with elders, school teachers and so on – but through this initiative, we want to impart these values through entertain and education both. We will charge for it but make sure to make an impact.

Through his candid and honest responses, Asit Kumarr Modi highlighted how the legacy of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah lies not just in television but in building a larger ecosystem rooted in values, entertainment, and meaningful engagement. The intent to expand into gaming, animation, merchandise, and even education is a strong indicator of how Indian content creators can build enduring universes for kids and families, grounded in cultural context and emotional connect.

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