There’s no doubt that this sitcom made a home in their audience’s heart as soon as it first aired in 2008. Based on Taarak Mehta’s weekly column called Duniya Ne Undha Chasma in Chitralekha magazine, this hilarious show is one of the longest-running sitcoms of the country.
Here are some lesser-known facts about TMKOC that will surely make you fall in love with the show once again.
1. Amit Bhatt (Bapuji), who plays the character of Dilip Joshi’s (Jethalal) father on the show, is actually younger than his on-screen son in reality. That’s right. The father-son duo has an age gap of almost six years. While Bhatt was born in 1974, Joshi’s birth year is 1968.
2. In 2020, the show made a Guinness World Record for being the longest-running sitcom on television by episode count.
3. The OG bachelor of the show, Shyam Patak (Popatlal) is actually married in real life and is the father of three children. He met his now-wife Reshami when he was studying at the National School Of Drama (NSD) and tied the knot in 2003.
5. Mandar Chandwadkar (Bhidhe Master), who portrays the character of a strict home tutor in the show, is actually a mechanical engineer in real life. He even worked as an engineer for three years in Dubai.
6. Tanmay Vekaria’s (Bagha) character was not planned initially. Although he had made an appearance in the show as a taxi driver and a rickshaw-puller earlier, he really appeared on the show when Ghanashyam Nayak (Nattu Kaka) was on leave and Bagha took care of Jethalal’s shop. They decided to keep his role permanently as the audience loved his character.
7. Bhavya Gandhi (Tappu) and Samay Shah (Gogi) are maternal cousins in real life. No wonder the duo share good on-screen chemistry.
8. Dilip Joshi, who portrays the main character Jethalal, was initially approached to play Bapuji’s role. After he refused that role, he was cast to play his iconic character.
9. Tanuj Mahashabde, who played the role of Krishnan Subramaniam Iyer, was initially one of the writers of the show. It was Dilip Joshi who got the idea of introducing a Bengali-Tamilian couple in the show and the rest is history.
10. Bhavya Gandhi (Tappu) is one of the highest-paid child artists in the television industry. As per reports, he charged ₹10,000 per episode for this show until he left.