TMKOC actor Jennifer Mistry calls out production team: From costumes to ACs in the room, they fought over petty things

Actor Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal didn’t mince any words when she accused Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chasma producer Asit Modi of sexual harassment, and called out the show for toxicity. The actor has now come out to share that while there have been bigger issues, the minute details also need to be highlighted to understand the kind of atmosphere that existed on the set of the show, which made it difficult for artistes to survive.

“The production (team) would not wash our clothes, and we had to wear the same costume for 20 days straight. Since we shot for the whole day, the clothes would smell. There were days when we’d come and wash the clothes ourselves aur usse dryer se sukhaate the. There were a few select people whose clothes were washed by the team, baaki humein aise hi kaam chalaana padta tha,” laments the actor who has registered a complaint against the producer but is facing problems. “The police is discouraging me and taking things very slow. Wo cheezo ko taal rahe hain. I am very upset because jaha par justice ke liye fight kar rahi hu, waha ye sab ho raha hai. I have also reached out to higher authorities for the same,” she adds.

Coming back to the issues she and others faced on the set, Mistry shares how the cast, especially female actors, and how they were made to wait for hours in costume and makeup without food. “I can’t even tell you how the cast members had to beg for the most basic things like water. There were only a few bottles available on set, and if anyone asked for more, unhe sunna padta tha. A packet of biscuit used to be a big deal, dinner toh aap bhool hi jaao. Raat ke 9 baje ki shift me agar biscuits maang lo toh woh bhi nahi dete the,” she recounts.

As for the clothes, accessories and shoes, Mistry reveals that for the longest time, actors had to get their own stuff. “Throughout the show, I wore my own jewellery for the shoot. Shoes ke paise bhi 2-3 saal pehle se dena shuru kare. Usse pehle, they used to give us old, ripped shoes that could not even be worn. Children on the set were never given clothes by the production. Woh sab khud apna arrange karte they,” she continues with her shocking revelation about the production arrangements.

Mistry goes on to point that such issues had a lot to do with the hierarchy on set where a few actors were given make-up and tissues, while the rest had to clean their faces with a towel, which was later washed and reused. “Imagine putting our health on risk. They jus did not care. Even during Covid-19 days, while everyone was taking precautionary measures, there was nothing done [to protect us from infection]. Even the set was sanitised only once during the entire Covid-19 phase,@ she says, adding, “The make-up artistes used to wear protection suits only for the sake of it because the videos would be sent to CINTAA to show that rules were being followed. The condition was pathetic. The vanity vans given to us had cockroaches, while the ones with male leads on the show were luxurious. We used to complain about it, but kaun sunta? Kisi ko fark nahi padta tha. In fact, we used to be told that we are fillers and the production is doing a favour by giving us rooms with air conditioners.”