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Taarak Mehta actor says sorry after MNS threat for saying Hindi is language of Mumbai, creator says ‘I am an Indian’

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByHT Correspondent
Mar 04, 2020 11:30 AM IST

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah creator Asit Kumarr Modi issued a statement on Twitter after the show ran into controversy over a statement in one of the episodes, that Hindi was the common language of Mumbai.

Popular comedy show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah was at the centre of a controversy after one of its characters Champaklal said in an episode that Hindi was the language of Mumbai. This statement angered the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and they issued threats to the makers.

Now, Asit Kumarr Modi, the creator of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, has issued a statement on Twitter. He wrote, “Mumbai Maharashtra mein hai aur humare Maharashtra ki rajbhasha Marathi hi hai. Isme koi doubt nahi hai. Main bharatiya hoon. Maharashtrian hoon aur Gujarati bhi. Saari bharatiya bhashaon ka samman karta hoon (Mumbai is in Maharashtra and Marathi is the official language of our Maharashtra. There is no doubt about that. I am an Indian. I am a Maharashtrian and also a Gujarati. I respect all Indian languages). Jai Hind.”

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Last week, in an episode of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Champaklal aka Bapuji resolved an argument between the residents of Gokuldham, who wanted to write the ‘thought for the day’ on the society’s notice board in their respective native languages. He told the warring residents, “Dekho, humara Gokuldham Mumbai mein hai. Aur Mumbai ki aam bhasha kya hai? Hindi! Isliye hum suvichar Hindi mein likhte hai. Agar humara Gokuldham Chennai mein hota, toh hum suvichar Tamil mein likhte (See, our Gokuldham is in Mumbai. And what is the common language of Mumbai? Hindi! This is why we write the ‘thought for the day’ in Hindi. If Gokuldham were in Chennai, we would write it in Tamil).”

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This statement did not go down too well with Ameya Khopkar, president of the cinema wing of MNS, who threatened the makers in a scathing tweet. He wrote that despite knowing that Marathi is the language of Mumbai, people deliberately spread misinformation. He added that these “Gujarati insects” must be taught a lesson.

Khopkar also hit out at the Maharashtrian actors who were a part of the show and did not find anything wrong with the statement, and said that they should be ashamed of themselves.

 

MNS general secretary Shalini Thackeray also slammed the show and said that if the channel, SAB TV, did not understand that the common language of Mumbai is Marathi and not Hindi, then Maharashtrian soldiers will have to write the ‘thought for the day’ under their ears and that too in Marathi.

 

 

After the furore, actor Amit Bhatt, who recited the controversial dialogue in the show, apologised to the party and said that he was merely following the script. He added that they will ensure that such a gaffe does not happen again.

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