Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; August 29, 2020)

A few days back, Neha Mehta, who played Taarak Mehta’s wife Anjali in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, quit the show, citing personal reasons. The actress talked to BT about her sudden decision to end her journey. She said, “Yes, there were issues, but I believe that sometimes, silence speaks for itself. Also, I felt that I needed to move on and grow. I need to explore other platforms like films and web series. Also, when you become a part of a project for such a long time, you settle into a comfort zone and don’t think of any other opportunities. Over the last few years, I got some interesting offers, but I let them go because I felt this unit was like my family.”

Ask her if monetary issues were the reason for her exit and she said, “I would not like to comment on that, but I do feel that in many areas, discipline and decorum was not maintained on the sets. I felt that it was important to exit the show gracefully, without creating any hassles. But, this does not mean that I have no respect for the show or the production house. I had wanted to leave for quite sometime now and it’s a great brand and as our producer (Asit Kumarr Modi) rightly says, the show must go on.”

So, given a chance, would she return to the show in the future? “It has been a 12-year-long journey. I have great respect for Asit Modi sir and if they call me back, I might even consider going back to the show,” she replied.

When we spoke to the producer, he said, “It’s one of the longest running shows on television and if we have reached so far, it has to be teamwork. I have always tried to keep my team members together and work towards the betterment of the show. If certain ego battles arise on the sets, people have to let go off them and emerge as team players. There were no major issues with Neha, but she decided to leave.” Actress Sunayna Fozdar replaced Neha a few days back on the show.