Television's one of the most popular shows Taarak Mehta Ka Oolatah Chashmah got into a controversy recently when one of its characters Champaklal said in an episode that Hindi was the language of Mumbai. The dialogue was not received well by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) which resulted in them issuing threats to the makers.
Asit Kumarr Modi, the creator of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, has now stated on Twitter saying, "Mumbai Maharashtra mein hai aur humare Maharashtra ki rajbhasha Marathi hi hai. Isme koi doubt nahi hai. Main bharatiya hoon. Maharashtrian hoon aur Gujarati bhi. Saari bharatiya bhashaon ka samman karta hoon (Mumbai is in Maharashtra and Marathi is the official language of our Maharashtra. There is no doubt about that. I am an Indian. I am a Maharashtrian and also a Gujarati. I respect all Indian languages). Jai Hind."
The controversy started when in an episode which aired last week, Champaklal asked to write on the society's notice board, " Dekho hamara Gokuldham Mumbai mein hai. Aur Mumbai ki aam bhasha kya hai? Hindi! Isliye hum suvichar Hindi mein likhte hai. Agar humara Gokuldham Chennai mein hota, toh hum suvichar Tamil mein likhte (See, our Gokuldham is in Mumbai. And what is the common language of Mumbai? Hindi! This is why we write the ‘thought for the day’ in Hindi. If Gokuldham were in Chennai, we would write it in Tamil)."
Ameya Khopkar, president of the cinema wing of MNS, after the episode, threatened the makers in a scathing tweet. He wrote that despite knowing that Marathi is the language of Mumbai, people deliberately spread misinformation. He added that these "Gujarati insects" must be taught a lesson.
MNS general secretary Shalini Thackeray also slammed the show and said that if the channel, SAB TV, did not understand that the common language of Mumbai is Marathi and not Hindi, then Maharashtrian soldiers will have to write the 'thought for the day' under their ears and that too in Marathi.
Actor Amit Bhatt, who plays the role of Champaklal and recited the controversial dialogue in the show, apologised to the party and said that he was merely following the script. He also added that they will ensure that such an error does not happen again.
