Taarak
Mehta
Ka
Ooltah
Chashmah
is
one
of
the
most-loved
and
longest-running
shows
on
television.
The
popular
sitcom
has
completed
14
successful
years.
On
this
occasion,
the
creator/producer
of
the
show
Asit
Modi,
recently
spoke
with
Indian
Express
about
his
initial
struggle
to
get
the
show
aired
on
television
and
also
revealed
how
they
deal
with
criticism.
Talking
about
the
initial
struggle,
Asit
revealed
that
no
channel
was
ready
to
accept
the
show,
as
the
show's
concept
was
comedy
and
back
then
(2008),
the
television
industry
was
ruled
by
saas-bahu
dramas.
But
they
believed
in
their
concept
and
knew
that
it
will
strike
a
chord
with
audience,
and
it
did.
The
producer
is
glad
that
they
managed
to
do
what
they
decided
to
do.
Having
started
his
journey
in
2002,
Asit
added
that
it
took
them
six
years
to
strike
the
deal
with
SAB
TV.
The
producer
was
quoted
by
the
leading
daily
as
saying,
"Sony
Pictures
was
re-formatting
SAB
as
a
comedy
channel,
and
the
then
COO
NP
Singh
asked
me
if
I
wanted
to
do
something.
He
liked
the
concept
but
there
was
no
budget
and
I
knew
I
would
run
into
losses.
However,
my
wife
and
my
team
assured
me
that
this
was
something
that
will
work.
Hence
I
accepted
it
as
a
challenge,
listening
to
my
inner
belief.
We
kept
working
hard
and
it's
already
been
14
years.
It
feels
like
we
just
started
yesterday."
His
struggle
didn't
end
as
the
audience
rejected
the
show
initially,
as
they
were
used
to
kitchen
dramas
and
there
was
no
saasu
maa
in
the
show.
Instead
of
haveli,
the
set
was
a
society
and
the
storyline
had
no
major
drama
plots.
However,
later
the
viewers
realised
that
the
show
was
about
them.
Asit
said
that
after
a
couple
of
months,
they
saw
that
Jethalal
was
them
and
the
neighbours
were
actually
people
around
them.
It
was
then
the
viewers
connected
with
the
show
and
they
showered
love.
Asit
also
spoke
about
the
casting
of
the
show,
which
he
felt
was
perfect
and
added
to
the
success
of
the
show.
The
producer
added
the
it
took
six
months
to
finalise
the
cast
and
revealed
as
they
wanted
actors
who
suit
the
characters.
He
said,
"I
had
worked
with
Dilip
Joshi
and
Disha
Vakani
too
had
been
doing
theatre.
Even
then,
most
of
them
had
no
experience
working
on
a
daily
show
and
it
took
us
time
to
get
into
the
grind.
Tappu
Sena,
the
kids,
were
all
new
and
I
think
they
brought
a
different
energy
to
the
table.
The
actors
made
the
show
reach
newer
heights."
While
the
team
is
going
strong
for
14
years
and
getting
love
from
a
lot
of
viewers,
of
late
a
few
of
them
have
been
showing
displeasure
over
the
storyline.
When
asked
if
the
criticism
hurt,
he
concluded
by
saying,
"Not
at
all.
If
they
love
us,
they
have
all
the
rights
to
give
their
harsh
feedback.
Also,
if
you
look
at
social
media,
everything
is
just
too
negative.
We,
as
a
team
do
not
take
the
trolling
too
seriously.
However,
we
do
take
in
consideration
honest
reviews
and
immediately
work
on
it.
We
do
believe
that
one
has
to
keep
on
evolving.
As
for
criticism,
we
take
it
with
utmost
sportsman
spirit."