Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is one of the most loved shows on television. The sitcom’s producer Asit Kumarr Modi has been accused of s*xual harassment by Jennifer Mistry. Over the past few days, she has been making shocking allegations against the producer and Operations Head, Sohail Ramani and Executive Producer, Jatin Bajaj. She shared yet another incident that occurred in March 2019 when the crew was shooting for some special episodes in Singapore where Asit made her uncomfortable. She said that at the time, she told two of her co-stars about the same and they, in their own way, tried to shield the actress from the producer’s unwanted advances.
The actress shared with ETimes, “March 2019, Singapore mein hum the. Humari puri team thi jahan par Asit ji ne mujhe sabse zyada verbally harass kia, sexually jo cheezein boli. March 7, 2019 was my marriage anniversary, 8 March ko unhone mereko bola ‘Abhi toh tumhari anniversary khatam hogayi, abhi kahe ka guilt, aa jana mere room mein, whisky peete hain.’ Maine avoid kia. Fir unhone mujhe agle din bola, ‘Tumhari room partner toh raat ko chali jati hai, ghumne jati hai, tum kya karti ho akele room mein? Aa jaya karo, whisky peete hain’. Maine fir ignore kia ki baahar hun, anjaan desh mein hun, kya karungi? Mere husband nahi hain. Koi nahi hai. (March 2019, we were in Singapore. Our entire team was there and Asit harassed me verbally, saying some sexual stuff. March 7, 2019 was my marriage anniversary. On March 8, he told me, ‘Now your anniversary is over, now what is there to feel guilty about? Come to my room, we will have some whisky. I avoided. The next day he told me, ‘Your roommate goes out every night. What do you do alone? Come to my room, we’ll have some whisky.’ I ignored him again because I thought I am in a foreign country, what will I do? My husband is not there. No one is there.)”She then detailed the incident that left her ‘shivering’. “Finally unhone mujhe bola. Main ek jagah khadi thi, coffee nikal rahi, voh ekdum mere baju mein aise aaye, dheere se unhone bola, ‘Tumhare honth bade sundar hain, aise lagta hai pakad ke kiss kar lo.’ Main aise shiver hone lagi. Maine socha yeh kya kar rahe hain? Kya bol rahe hain? Meri room partner room mein rehti nahi hai. Raat ko room mein aa gaye toh main kya karungi? Itna darr tha mujhe. (Finally one day he told me. I was getting coffee and he came and stood next to me and said slowly, ‘Your lips are so beautiful. I feel like kissing them.’ I started shivering. I thought what is he doing? What is he saying? My roommate isn’t there at night. If he comes in at night, what will I do? I was scared.)”
The actress said that she called her husband and he asked her to come back immediately. “Maine kaha kaise shoot chhod ke aaun? Kya karu? Matlab itna dari hui thi ki mujhe samajh mein bhi nahi aa raha tha ki kya karu. (I said how do I leave the shoot midway. What do I do? I was so scared that I couldn’t figure out what to do.)”She then shared that she told two of her colleagues about the incident and one of them spoke to Asit and told him to not bother the actress. The other colleague would spread their arms protecting her anytime Asit was near her but she added that they did that jokingly as even they couldn’t confront him as he was their producer as well. She added that she chose to stay silent because she was getting paid for her work and she needed the money.Previously, Asit Kumarr Modi’s team said they will respond to the allegations legally. Mumbai police has started an inquiry into the complaint of sexual harassment against producer Asit Kumarr Modi and two crew members. The show holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running Indian daily sitcom on television by episode count.Modi and his team of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah were among the first nine citizens of India to be nominated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote his Clean India Campaign.He is known for producing the serials Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, SAB Khelo SAB Jeeto!,Wah! Wah! Kya Baat Hai!, Krishnaben Khakhrawala, Pyaar Mein Twist, Meri Biwi Wonderful,Yeh Duniya Hai Rangeen and Hum Sab Ek Hai.