TMKOC's Sachin Shroff Says Comparisons With Shailesh Lodha Doesn't Bother Him: 'He's Done Justice'

Sachin Shroff, who replaced Shailesh Lodha in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, has been warmly welcomed by fans. In an interview with ETimes TV, he shared that he initially had doubts about taking the role. Sachin talked about the challenges of following Shailesh Lodha, the inevitable comparisons, and more. He also credited his Asharam co-star Bobby Deol for encouraging him to accept the role and spoke about the close bond among the Aashram cast.

He said, “When I joined the show I was a little confused whether I should accept the offer or not. I remember I had wrapped up shooting for Ashram and was sitting with Bobby Deol and I told him that I’d been offered this show and he told me it’s a popular show, I think you should go and meet them. I came here, met Asit Kumar ji, we had a few meetings and I joined the show.”

Sachin said that he was hesitant about joining the show, but producer Asit Modi reassured him and told him to play the character in his own style and that the show’s format would remain the same. “Yes, there was an apprehension about joining the show but Asit Modi our producer answered all my questions and cleared my doubts. He told me that you don’t need to worry and you portray the character as you wish to in your style. We are going to bring in strong topics, our system will be the same. You perform in your own style and I did the same thing. The best part is all my co-stars starting from Dilip Joshi to Sunayana Fozdar who is playing my wife, Tappu Sena, and Bhide, everyone has been very welcoming and loving,” he said, adding, “When I agreed to do the show, it was two days before signing the contract and after informing my family, the next call I made was to Bobby Deol. I told him and he was very happy about it. He gave me his best wishes.”

He also said that comparisons with Shailesh Lodha does not bother him. “Comparisons never bother or affect me. Every actor who has been part of Taarak Mehta has done justice. Shailesh Lodha ji has done thorough justice with the role of Taarak. Whenever there are comparisons I’m fine with it. I feel comparisons should always happen, because Woh agar nahi honge toh dusra actor Aur zyaada mehnat kaise karega. Also, if an actor is playing a role for 14 years and suddenly there is a change, it becomes difficult for the audience to accept it overnight. In this scenario it is very important to have patience, work with full focus and you should not overthink,” he said.

He also mentioned how amazing Bobby was in Animal. “Yes, I saw Animal and Bobby was fantastic in the film. The best part about him is that he is a sweetheart. Jo maasumiyat unke face par hai Na Woh actually utne masoom hai. So when he plays a character which is so negative, audiences enjoy watching the changeover.”