EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: TMKOC's director of 14 years, Malav Rajda REVEALS if show's set is 'male chauvinist'

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah former director Malav Rajda and his wife Priya Ahuja sat down for an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla.

By Shaibalina Choudhury

Updated on Jun 06, 2023 | 06:13 PM IST | 504K

TMKOC's director of 14 years, Malav Rada and wife Priya Ahuja opened up about working on the show

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is the longest-running sitcom on television screens. The show enjoys huge popularity among the audience. In recent times several former actresses brought up allegations against the show producer, Asit Kumarr Modi. Actress Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal and Monika Bhadoriya recently sat down for an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla to share the details of their allegations. Now, Malav Rajda, who has been the show's director for 14 years interacted with us. His wife, Priya Ahuja was also present.

Malav Raja on TMKOC's 'male-chauvinistic' environment

In December 2022, Malav Rajda announced his exit from the show after being Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah's director for 14 years. A few actresses revealed that Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah set is 'male-chauvinistic'. On being asked if he has seen any instances or feels so, the director said, "Kahi bar kya hota hai, actors often think from their point of view, humko sab sochna padhta hai. Aaj agar combination shoot karna hai jaha gents bhi ho, ladies bhi ho, humlog gents ka close pehle kar lenge kyunki agle din subah gents ka call time jaldi hoga and ladies ka late see hoga. But they don't understand this, unko lagta hai ki wo log ayese hi baithe hai and udhar gents log ka shooting ho gaya."

Watch the full interview with Malav Rajda here:

Malav Rajda on giving more importance to male actors

He also further added that he believes male actors are given importance on the set. Talking about why it is so, he said, "Kyunki after Daya, the show became more male-centric, be it Bhide or Jethalal or Popatlal. Unke story bhi zyada hoti hai aur kaam bhi. They are working more hours. So, as a director, I have to see that they remain fresh. Male chauvinistic bolke ayesa kuch nahi hai."

Malav also shared that most times work in the acting industry is done on a seniority basis. Explaining further about his statement, he said, "Aaj agar Jethalal ka scene hai toh Dilip bhai ka pehle karna padhta hai kyunki wo senior actor hai. Wo mahiney ke 26 din shoot karta hai, so he needs to be fresh. But ladies log, mahine ke 10-12 din shoot karte hai. Toh kabhi kisiko lagta hai ki yaar, humara pehle nahi huya." However, talking about his own work Malav shared that he always used to shoot zone-wise because he also wanted to get his work done fast and leave for home.

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