There has been a lot of negativity associated with TMKOC off-late, I do not want to worsen it: Malav Rajda

Malav Rajda who directed Sony Sab's cult show 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' for 14 long years got speaking to India Forums when we contacted him to speak about the ongoing TMKOC (Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah) controversy.

We asked Malav the reason behind speaking after all these years of quitting the show, ''No, I did not decide to speak. I read about the production team calling Jenny unprofessional and aggressive. Hence, when I was contacted by the reporters I spoke. It was for her.''

We asked Malav about his association with the production house. To this, he replied, ''When you're associated with a show for 14 years, your association has to be more good than bad. It is obvious that you've had a good association which is why you stick to a project for this long. I was emotionally associated with the show. You know I found Priya on the show too. I never cashed on the popularity of the show. However, there comes a time when you see what is going on and you feel bad. After a point of time I stopped feeling happy onsets. To pin point the exact reason is difficult, however, it was a build up of a lot of small things over a period of time. My emotions with the show ended, my emotional connect got over.''

When we asked him the reason behind this build up, Malav said, ''I don't think I want to get into that. I have a lot of gratitude for the show, that show gave me a lot. Yes, there have been a few instances that made me take that decision, but right now, there has been a lot of negativity associated with the show and I do not want to speak and add up. I want to let go of things and move on.There are people on the show who are commenting and asking the reason behind speaking after all these years. I think it is downright stupid to say something like that. I gave the show 14 years of my life, you cannot take that away from me. I have worked hard and I deserve all the credit.''

Upon being asked about Jennifer's sexual advancements allegations against Asit Modi, Malav said, ''Well, it did not happen in front of me. These things do not happen out in the open. But if you ask me about the production's statement where in they called Jenny aggressive and unprofessional, I would completely deny it.  She might have come late a few times, but which actor hasn't in the past 14 years? She has never been the reason behind our shoot getting hampered. We too have had fights, but it would be situational and it got over too. Jenny is a very jovial person. I've always seen her laughing with people, sharing lunch everyday, talking to everyone. If you are a abusive person, would anyone want to eat with you?''

We asked Malav about his wife Priya's statements on the producer and he said, ''Priya and I have never mixed our personal and professional lives. She has never asked for any favours even when we were working together. However, she thinks, the production had been unfair to her. They kept her hanging and did not even inform her about her being a part of the show or not. She messaged Asit bhai and even Sohail, yet they did not reply. In the past 9 years, she did not even have an increment.''

A lot of actors have announced that their payments are either stuck or not released by the production house. When we asked Malav about the same and asked him if this is true, he said, ''I have not faced this. My payment has been cleared. Yes, I had to remind them a couple of times, but it was cleared. I don't know why wasn't their payment cleared.''

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