It has been almost a year since Shailesh Lodha quit the longrunning show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC), but issues between him and producer Asit Kumarr Modi remain unresolved. Most recently, the actor, who played the title character in TMKOC for 14 years, filed a case against the producer before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for not clearing his dues.

Asit said he was hurt by how Shailesh handled the situation. He added, “I received a notice a couple of months ago and couldn’t fathom the reason because I hadn’t refused to clear his dues. In fact, we followed up with him regarding his pending dues by regularly sending emails and text messages because he had to complete the formalities. That’s how it is in every organization. However, he didn’t agree to complete those formalities.”

The production house was hopeful of Shailesh returning to the show. But when that didn’t happen, they replaced him with Sachin Shroff in September last year. Asit said, “When you work together for so many years, minor disagreements and clashes are bound to happen. Don’t family members fight, too? He wanted to take up work outside and participate in kavi sammelans, but Taarak Mehta is a daily soap with an ensemble cast, and it was not possible to accommodate his request. We had a minor tiff over it in April last year, after which he never returned to shoot.”

He added, “Shailesh ji spoke about his atma sammaan, toh bhai hamaara bhi toh atma sammaan hai. Targeting me with his couplets and poems doesn’t befit him. I feel hurt by his behaviour as we shared a good relationship. I have never badmouthed him and have respected his work. I took the risk of entrusting him with the responsibility of playing the title role even though he wasn’t an actor aur ek dinn jhagda hota hai aur woh aadmi bura ho jaata hai. Taarak Mehta se koi bhi jaata hai mujhe dukh hota hai because the unit is dear to me. He quit the show, we didn’t tell him to leave. We even offered him to serve a three-month notice period if he wished to quit the show, but he refused to have a meeting with us. Pyaar se aakar unko paise le lene chahiye the par he didn’t want to sign any document or complete the paperwork and other formalities. If there was a problem, he could have shared it with us, but he filed a case instead. We have a record of emails and text messages sent to him. How are so many people working on the show for the past 15 years if their dues are not cleared on time? Strangely, jab tak aap show ka hissa hain tab tak sab achha aur jaise hi chhod dete hain toh sab bure. I fail to understand this attitude.”

When contacted, Shailesh Lodha said, “I do not want to comment on the case, as it is sub judice. I would just like to say that Taarak Mehta wasn’t my first show, and I didn’t approach Asit Modi to cast me. I have been an established poet since 1981 and worked in TV shows like Waah Waah, Comedy Circus and Kya Baat Hai before. I would like to quote great poet Krishna Bihari Noorji’s couplet ‘Sach zara sa ghate ya badhe toh sach na rahe, jhooth ki koi inteha hi nahi aur sone ke frame mein madh dijiye chahe, aaina jhooth bolta hi nahi’. I also remember two lines penned by me ‘Usse jhooth ko asharfiyon se dhakne ki aadat hai, bhool jaata hai woh mere pass sach ki taakat hai’. I will reply to every claim made by Asit and talk about the trail of events with all documents at the right time.”