Shailesh Lodha, who played the lead character in Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC) for 14 years, has decided to take legal action against the makers of the show. The actor-poet left the show last year due to a reported rift with the showrunner, Asit Modi.

Earlier in January, we reported that Lodha has been waiting for over six months to clear his dues of over a year. And in the first week of March, he initiated a corporate insolvency resolution under Section 9, as Modi could not pay his debts, and reached out to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The hearing is set to take place in May.

When contacted, Lodha refused to comment, saying “the matter is subjudice”. And Modi has not made any comment, citing that he is “currently travelling”. However, we were contacted by Sohil Ramani, project head, TMKOC, who said that “Lodha has been like family” to them.

He claimed that they have been “trying to reach out to sir (Lodha) for months to sign the required paperwork and receive his pending payments”. Ramani further stated that they have “never denied or refused to give his payment”.

“In every company, when people leave, they have to sign full and final papers before complete payment is released. Instead of going around and complaining, isn’t it better to simply follow the regular procedure? We are not pursuing any case. We have already informed sir (Lodha) to take his dues and sign the required papers,” he ends.