Tarak Mehta

Tarak Mehta
Tarak Mehta at his residence in Ahmedabad, 2009
Born
Tarak Janubhai Mehta

(1929-12-26)26 December 1929
Ahmadabad, Bombay Presidency, British India
(present day Gujarat, India)
Died1 March 2017(2017-03-01) (aged 87)
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Occupations
  • Columnist
  • Humourist
  • Writer
  • Playwright
Known forDuniya Ne Undha Chasma
Spouses
  • Ila Doshi
    ​
    (div. 1969)​
  • Indu Mehta
    ​
    (m. 2002)​
ChildrenEshani
AwardsRamanlal Nilkanth Hasya Paritoshik (2017)
Padma Shri (2015)
Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar (2011)

Tarak Janubhai Mehta (26 December 1929 – 1 March 2017) was an Indian columnist, humourist, writer and playwright who is best known for the column Duniya Ne Undha Chasma, and was a well-known figure in Gujarati theatre.[1]

His humorous weekly column first appeared in Chitralekha in March 1971 and looked at contemporary issues from a different perspective. He published 80 books in his whole career.[2]

In 2008, SAB TV (now Sony SAB) – a popular entertainment channel in India – started the sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah based on his column,[3] which soon became the flagship show of the channel. Actor Shailesh Lodha portrayed Mehta in the show until 2022 when he left the show and currently, Sachin Shroff portrays Mehta.[4]

  1. ^ Contemporary Indian theatre: interviews with playwrights and directors. Sangeet Natak Akademi. 1989. p. 159.
  2. ^ "Tharak Mehta is 'booked'!". DNA. 9 March 2009.
  3. ^ "Comedy Inc!". Indian Express. 2 July 2010.
  4. ^ "Sachin Shroff replaces Shailesh Lodha in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, confirms producer". India Today. Retrieved 10 August 2023.