Apr 24, 2025 06:07 AM IST
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah creator Asit Modi opened up about casting Disha Vakani in the role of Dayaben, and when they knew she was the right fit.
Dayaben became a household name ever since the release of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. As essayed by Disha Vakani, the character also had an iconic garba style, which was loved by the audience. In an interview with Screen, creator Asit Modi revealed that it was the improvisation of Disha that was added to the character. (Also read: Will Disha Vakani return as Dayaben in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah? Here’s what producer Asit Modi has to say)
On casting Disha as Dayaben
Talking about the moment the makers knew Disha was the right choice for the character, Asit said, “Disha Vakani is a very fine actor. So when we explained the character to her, our brief was that she is a very innocent lady who looks after her husband, her father-in-law, and her world revolves around her son. Whenever she gets shocked, her reaction is always ‘Hey Ma, Mataji!’, it’s a very common reaction amongst people in Gujarat. During her audition, we were all sitting together, and when she played the part, we all just loved it. The reference to Dayaben calling Jethalal from the balcony comes from my mother. Whenever my father would go to work, he would forget something, and my mother would run behind him, calling him. We bought that innocence in her character; she doing garba was added later.”
‘Daya Bhabhi’s style of garba was her improvisation’
“During the first episode, we thought of adding garba in the episode when Bapuji snorted, his hip gets stiff, that is when we decided to try if we could use Garba to rectify his stiffness. That’s how the craze for doing garba started. Daya Bhabhi’s style of garba was her improvisation. While shooting, we all try to take what is written in the script to the next level,” he added.
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been airing since July 28, 2008. Disha had quit the show a few years back, only to make a breif appearance in 2020. It was reported in 2022 that Disha got throat related issues because of Dayaben’s unique voice on the show.
