When Shailesh Lodha quit Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah earlier this year, fans of the show were shocked. Lodha played the titular role in the longest running television show on Indian television but the reason as to why he quit the show has never been explicitly stated. It was implied that Lodha was not happy with the exclusive contract that he had to sign with the makers of the show leaving him no time to pursue other opportunities.
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In a recent chat with Siddharth Kannan, Shailesh spoke about working on the show for over 14 years and said that he was attached to it. He spoke in Hindi and said, “We Indians are emotional people so we get attached to everything, there is no doubt about that.” Shailesh continued, “I am an emotional person. In fact, I call myself an emotional idiot. I am a sentimental fool. Attachment is natural. And if you do anything for 14 years, it will happen.”
When asked about his reason for quitting, Shailesh recited a ‘sher’ by Bashir Badr. “Kuch toh majbooriyan rahi hongi, yun hi koi bevafa nahi hota,” which can be loosely translated as “There must be some reason, people don’t leave without reason.” Shailesh added, “It’s not like I won’t reveal why I left the show. I will say but only at the right time.”
At the time when Shailesh left the show, a source told indianexpress.com, “Shailesh feels that his character has been lost among the ensemble. While he gave his dates, there’s not much for him to do. Also, now that the pandemic is over, his kavi sammelans have again started and he’s quite busy. He recently informed the production house that he wouldn’t like to continue. Shailesh has now stopped coming for shoots and is sticking to his ground.”
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The makers of TMKOC brought in Scahin Shroff to replace Shailesh Lodha. Shailesh bagged a Hindi poetry show named Wah Bhai Wah after quitting the Sony SAB show.
