8 Reasons why 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chasmah' is the most loved show!

The epic sitcom celebrates its glorious journey of 8 years today..

Published: Thursday,Jul 28, 2016 16:28 PM GMT-06:00

Kunal Nirmal Kothari

8 years ago, we were introduced to a small society called Gokuldham Society in the bylanes of Powder Gali, Goregaon East. The residents of Gokuldham came on our TV screens at 8: 30 pm and made it a promise to make us laugh and forget all our worries.

8 years later, 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' has become the longest running situational comedy series in India and is going still going stronger than ever.

A show that was touted to be an underdog, a show which was telecasted on a lesser popular channel and a show which did not have the quintessential star power' has now become legendary with no intention of going off the tube anytime soon.

'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' completes exciting 8 years today and we list down the 8 reasons why the show has lived up to the promise of making us laugh constantly, emerging as the most loved show till date.

Slapstick Humour

This form of humour was not even prevalent on television screens before TMKOC came on the screens with it. Doing stupid mannerisms and weird faces isn't slapstick humour and that is what TMKOC taught us. Be it the characteristics of characters of the show, or Jethalal's (Dilip Joshi) impeccable reactions to several situations, TMKOC excelled in presenting fantastic slapstick humour.

Amazing punchlines

Some of it may be monotonous now, but when introduced the catchphrases and punchlines provided to several characters in the show were actually funny. The legendary one-liner 'hey maa, mataji' became a rage as it uttered through the mouth of Daya Jethalal Gada (Disha Vakani).

Crazy situational comic sketches

The show is a situational comedy and India was really lacking a quality sitcom since 'Dekh Bhai Dekh', 'Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai', and 'Khichdi' went off the tube. TMKOC has provided some absolute laugh riots, be it Jethalal's kidnapping track, Tappu's (Bhavya Gandhi) child-marriage track or Taarak Mehta apparently cheating on his wife track. These are just some of the many sketches that have made us go rolling on the floor laughing.

Sporadic introduction of funny characters

Pretty soon, the show realised that the popularity and laughter quotient of the show cannot be sustained with monotony. Hence, keeping the flavour of the central characters of the show, TMKOC also kept introducing some hilarious characters in the form of Bagha (Tanmay Vekaria), Bawri (Monika Bhadoriya) and even occasional appearances from Inspector Chaalu Pandey (Dayashankar Pandey) and many more.

Keeping it simple

One of the unique selling points (USPs) of the show has been its simplicity. While, today, us being in the modern era of television, TMKOC has managed to keep the simplicity of the characters and the show altogether; and that has made the show funnier. Not trying to be fancy with comedy, the show's simple treatment of humour has been pivotal in its success.

Evolving with time

Having said that keeping it 'simple' has been an important factor, the show in no way is 'old-fashioned'. If the show would be providing us the same attributes of characters that were portrayed when the show started, we are sure, the show wouldn't have lasted this long. The growing 'tappu sena' are no longer portrayed as innocent kids, but are smart and aware teenagers. A perfect blend of modern world and simplicity is the rare blend that the show gives us.

Getting celebrity guests to be a part of the sketches

With growing popularity, the show started welcoming several actor celebrities into their shows for either film promotions or special appearances. TMKOC has hosted all the major league actors from Shah Rukh Khan to Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan among many more. The distinct part, though, has been the participation of the guests in the comedy sketches. Why wouldn't a fan love watching his/her favourite actor doing crazy and unimaginable stuff!

Dilip Joshi's outstanding portrayal as Jethalal Champaklal Gada

It may be marginally unfair to single out one actor from the ensemble cast the show presents and mention that he/she is a standout person. However, what started off as Disha Vakani aka Daya winning accolades has now become a total Dilip Joshi aka Jethalal show. His rib-tickling characterization, absurdly funny expressions and astonishingly perfect sense of humour has not only made Jehtalal, but also TMKOC, the success it is. Having said that, the rest of the cast has managed to amuse one and all with their great performances.

It's fascinating how quickly 8 years passed. Many claim that the show has lost its true-blue touch in the recent tracks; which may be debatable. But, not many can argue, that even today, the 8:30-9:00pm slot is booked by millions to switch on the television and see 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chasmah'.

Happy 8^th Birthday team 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chasmah'. Take a bow!