Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah: After Jennifer Mistry and Monika Bhadoriya, Priya Ahuja speaks up on mental harassment

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah producer Asit Kumarr Modi is currently under the scanner. This happened after Jennifer Mistry spoke about being sexually harassed by the producer quite often. A few days later, Monika Bhadoriya came out in her support and narrated a similar experience. The latest to talk about her experience on the sets of the TV show is Priya Ahuja. She played the role of Rita reporter long ago.

She told ETimes that the artists have to go through mental harassment while working on Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. “Kaafi hota hai (It happens a lot)… mentally I’ve also gone through difficulties while working there,” she said.

Priya says that since her husband Malav was earning, thus it didn’t affect her as much. She also shared that the benefit she had of working on Taarak Mehta was that she wasn’t bound by a contract and thus, she could pick up as many roles as she liked.

Rita reporter was a character that was just as loved on the show. However, unfortunately, Priya’s role on the show was very limited. That did come as a surprise back then and now she reveals that her character was actually cut out from the show.

While Asit, Sohil Ramani or Jatin Bajaj never misbehaved with her, Priya did feel like she received unfair treatment on sets. “After I got married to Malav, they reduced my track. It was no longer how it used to be,” she shared. The actress claims that she sent Asit many texts but never received a response in return.

She then recalled how Asit used to once pass remarks questioning her need to work. “Sometimes he would comment ‘Arre tujhe kaam karne ki kya zarurat hai Malav is working na (why do you need to work when Malav is working),” she narrated. The actress shares that she did not speak about the matter because she wasn’t affected financially, since she bagged other roles anyway.

Her husband had quit directing the show. That is when she too was out of work when it came to Taarak Mehta. “Mujhe aap ne 9 months se show par nahi bulaya (You did not call me for shoot for nine months) because your relationship with Malav ended and aapne uske baad mujhe makkhi ki tarah nikal ke phek diya (you threw me away like an insect),” the actress said.

Jennifer had filed a sexual harassment case against Asit. In response, the makers questioned why she didn’t go to the women’s committee assigned for the show and added that she is playing the woman card.