Sailesh Lodha(Taarak Mehta)Apppreciation Thread#1

Shailesh Lodha

Shailesh Lodha (born 15 July 1969^[1] in Jodhpur City, Rajasthan) is an Indian actor, comedian and writer. He is married to swati lodha who is a Doctor.

He appears in the sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah as real-life columnist Taarak Mehta.^[2] He is from Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Lodha has also written four books: the first two were satirical humour, the third was a self-help book co-written with his wife, and his most recent book, Diljale Ka Facebook Status, is a collection of poems written from the point-of-view of a jilted lover.^[2] He is the helper, friend and mentor of Jethalal Champaklal Gada a.k.a. Dilip Joshi. He is currently anchoring the SAB TV programme 'Wah Wah Kya Baat Hai', a comedy programme that invites established and new poets.

The genre of Hasya-Kavita, increasingly rare with passing generations now finds a grand revival on SAB TV with Waah Waah Kyaa Baat Hai. But when this rare art form is used for humour, it inspires not just laughter, but awestruck laughter. Simply because this is not mere humour; it is humour as an intricate art form.

A host so well versed in the field himself is obviously a great asset for a show like this. He is seen not only curating the show but also contributing to every episode with his poetry and insights on the offerings of other poets. Complementing him as a host on the show is Neha Mehta, who incidentally, plays his on-screen wife in the show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. The duo is already a popular couple on screen and their partnership in this new show promises to be delightful.

Shailesh Lodha had a huge surprise awaiting him recently when he was in Rajasthan. Our very own Taarak Mehta was in in Banswara last Sunday for a stand-up performance. A huge crowd of almost 40,000 people turned up for the event and there were police personnel to keep things under control. In fact, Shailesh had to be escorted to the stage by an inspector and constables. "Though people always shower their love and appreciation, whenever I meet them face-to-face through my poetry and stand up comedy performances, the public excitement in Banswara was exceptional. It took me more than half-an-hour to reach the stage. The audience cheered loudly and got hysterical. I had to request them to let the proceedings continue smoothly," says Shailesh, who is currently seen in Sab's Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma and Bahut Khoob. "It is indeed a humbling experience for me," says the actor, who was given the prestigious Vimlesh Samman award recently for his work in the field of humour and satire.