Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been one of the leading shows in the industry. The show has been running for over 13 years now, with that, one of our favourite characters from the show has been Jethalal. The character has been portrayed by Dilip Joshi, however not many know that he could have played Chachaji’s role in the show.
Talking about it he said, “God has been kind. We will soon be completing 14 years. It’s a surreal feeling and I feel like I am dreaming. It’s surreal how people are still loving us. We are just blessed,”
He added, “He said I could pull off both and thus can make my choice. I wasn’t sure of Champak and thus picked Jetha. Even this character was quite different from what we had read in the Taarak Mehta columns. Asit ji conceptualised and designed Champak in a very different light, and set the show in society rather than a chawl. And the best part was he got the right actors for each part. Everything just fell in place for the show, and we managed to create magic.”
He again said, “Honestly, I couldn’t complain as I was having so much fun. I enjoy playing Jetha even today as an actor. I get to sing, dance, fight and even have dream sequences. I am doing everything a Hindi film hero gets to do, every day. We have celebrated each festival and occasion with so much zest on the show. What more does anyone want?”
He then added, “I took up Taarak Mehta… after doing theatre for nearly 25 years. I have done basically all kinds of roles so I never felt the need to do something different. I don’t think kuch baki reh gaya (anything is left for me to do). Also, as an actor, to be able to do the same thing again and again, and yet keeping the interest alive is a bigger challenge. Playing Jetha keeps me on my toes.”
Signing off he said, “I am an actor and I try to do justice to the script that’s given to me. All of us toil hard every day. By God’s grace, neither I nor anyone on the team has taken success to our head. We still go on set each day to work hard and entertain our fans.” Adding on he said, “That gives us the power and keeps us going. They have been supporting us throughout and I want to take the opportunity to thank them for their love and blessing.”