According to media reports, actress Jennifer Mistry from Sab TV’s popular comedy show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has accused Asit Kumarr Modi and two others of sexual harassment, a charge they denied. She essayed the role of Mrs. Roshan Singh Sodhi in the show.
Jennifer has confirmed that she quit the show in March and alleged that she had been such actions for a long time but endured them, hoping for improvement with time. She sent a formal letter to the concerned authorities, including the National Commission for Women and the Mumbai police on April 8, accusing Modi, project head Sohail Ramani and Executive Producer Jatin Bajaj of sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of a woman.
“He would pass uncharitable comments, but I ignored them. In March 2019, in Singapore, he said many things like, ‘Come to my room, let’s have whisky’,” she said in an interview. There was also one incident when he called me ‘sexy’ and pulled my cheeks. I have filed a case of sexual harassment against Asit Kumarr Modi, Sohail Ramani and Jatin Bajaj,” added the actress.
Responding to the sexual harassment allegations, producer Asit Kumar Modi said “We will take legal action as she is trying to defame me and the show both, since we terminated her services, she is making these baseless allegations” to a leading daily.
In another media statement, Ramani and Bajaj denied the allegations, claiming Jennifer regularly misbehaved with the entire team of the show. “We had to terminate her contract because of her bad behaviour and indiscipline during the shoot. During this incident, Asit ji was in the US. She is now trying to defame us and the show by making baseless allegations. We have already filed our complaint against these baseless allegations with the concerned authorities”, Ramani and Bajaj said in the joint statement.
Mumbai Police has started an inquiry, and soon the statement of the people related to this matter will be recorded.
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah features popular actors Dilip Joshi, Munmun Dutta and Mandar Chandwadkar among many others who have become household names with their characters. The started airing in 2008 and is one of the longest-running sitcoms in Indian television history.