When Taarak Mehta actors Dilip Joshi, Munmun Dutta and others made headlines for FIR's being lodged against them, reports of on-set rivalry and more

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actors Dilip Joshi, Munmun Dutta and others lead a low key life off screen. They keep their distance from the paps and are rarely spotted by them. However, there have been several incidents that made them the centre of attention and grab headlines. Here's taking a look at some of the major ones in the recent past.

Munmun Dutta, who plays Babita in the sitcom, used a casteist slur in one of her YouTube videos last year. This led to an outrage on social media which made the actress apologise for her honest mistake. But the matter didn't end there. An FIR was filed against her by Rajat Kalsan, convenor of the National Alliance for Dalit Human Rights. Last month, the actress appeared before investigating officer DSP Vinod Shankar in Hisar. She later said that she has been cooperating with the officials on the matter.

Shailesh Lodha (who plays Taarak Mehta) caught the attention of internet users for having slammed Kapil's show for its 'gross' comedy and then appearing on it with other poets Sanjay Jhala, Mumtaz Naseem and Popular Meeruthi. Speaking against the show, Shailesh had once said, "I feel ashamed to watch some shows where the grandmother wants to kiss everyone, a bua is shown to be desperate to get married and the wife is harassed by the husband. Instead I work in a show where the son touches his father's feet for everything." Many users called him out for his hypocrisy in the comments section of the promo posted on social media.

Taarak Mehta actor Dilip Joshi's daughter Niyati tied the knot last year. Dilip shared the photos from the wedding on his social media account. Little did he realise that his daughter's grey hair would get a lot of tension. While some trolled her, others couldn't stop praising her for being her natural self and not shying away from sporting her natural hair. A user wrote, "Thank you for sporting your grey hair and NOT colouring it due to societal pressure. I think it's very important to be our natural selves and embrace who we are even on special occasions. More power to you."

Last year when Jennifer went missing from the episodes for 2 to 3 months, rumours started doing the rounds that she is pregnant. However, the actress rubbished those claims. She told ETimes TV, "I have been getting too many messages if I quit 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah'. Some are even asking if I am pregnant. The truth is far from otherwise. I have just not been well, of late." She further added, "I had a lot of pain in the heel, which made my walk discomforting. I was on very strong medicines but the problem did not subside soon."

In June last year, there were also reports of Dilip Joshi's rift with co-actors Shailesh Lodha and Raj Anadkat (who plays Tapu). However, Dilip exclusively told ETimes TV, "We have been working together for 13 years now. When people talk about a rift, I just laugh it off. Just because someone wants to write something to grab eyeballs on social media, they cook up a story. I don't even feel like clarifying things now or stating that all is well. We are a great team, which is why the show is doing so well. I am comfortable working with my co-actors and the entire team. That is probably why I have not thought about doing anything else. My character and my team keep me going."

The actress' pregnancy break turned out to be her full-fledged exit from the show. Disha made headlines for not returning to the show post the birth of her daughter. Producer Asit Modi, who showed understanding initially, also couldn't help but speak about replacing the actor. Last year, he told TOI, "I feel I should become Dayaben now! The question of her return has been going on for many years now. We are still waiting for her to come back and if she expresses her desire to quit, the show will go on with a new Daya."

ETimes TV was the first to report about Munmun Dutta and Raj Anadkat's affair despite their huge age-gap. However, both the actors went on record to clarify that they are not seeing each other. Munmun in fact called out trolls in her long post in which she wrote, "To the general public, I had far better expectations from you. But the FILTH that you have showered in the comment section, even from the so called 'LITERATE' ones proves how regressive a society we are. Women are constantly AGE SHAMED, SLUT SHAMED, MOM SHAMED, at the cost of your humour. Whether YOUR humour drives someone to the edge of a mental breakdown or not, is NEVER your concern. 13 years of entertaining people and it didn't take 13 minutes for any of you to RIP MY DIGNITY APART. So next time someone is clinically depressed or driven to take their own lives, pause and think whether it was YOUR WORDS that drove that person to the edge or not."