Television's popular show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is now facing another legal issue as the makers have now issued a formal notice to Palak Sindhwani, who portrays the character of Sonu Bhide in the show. The notification states that without getting written approval, as stipulated in her contract, Palak has participated in unapproved third-party endorsements and appearances which has breached her contract. The makers have also stated that the integrity of the character and the series was compromised by these offenses, which persisted despite numerous written and verbal warnings and violated the exclusivity contract they were forced to take official action as a strict consequence.
In its response, Palak intended that she would be exiting the show very soon, which would mark another exit of any actor or actress from such a long-running show.
Earlier, actress Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal, lodged a formal complaint against producer Asit Modi, operation head Sohail Ramani and executive producer Jatin Bajaj alleging that they had tried to flirt with her and offered sexual advances.
However, Jennifer won the hearing, and Asit was mandated to give her the remaining Rs. five lakh in addition to paying off her outstanding debts. But later, while showing her disapproval towards the verdict Jennifer said, "I believe a woman's reputation matters most. It's been over 40 days, and I still haven't received my due amount, which I earned through hard work on the serial. Despite proving Mr Modi guilty of sexual harassment, no punishment has been given to all three accused."
"Sohil and Jatin weren't included in the verdict, which disappoints me. The local committee ordered my due amount, which I deserve. This verdict clears that my case was not fabricated and I wasn't seeking cheap publicity. While I'm glad my harassment was recognised, I don't feel I've received proper justice yet." She concluded.
Before Jennifer, actor Shailesh Lodha, who played the role of the titular character in the show, alleged the makers of not paying his complete dues, which resulted in their legal battle. In the year 2023, Shailesh won the case and the makers were subjected to pay the complete amount.
The show premiered on July 28, 2008 on the Sony SAB channel and is currently available on the Sony LIV platform.
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