'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' stars break their silence; Munmun Dutta says she's ashamed to call herself daughter of India, Raj Anadkat calls dating rumour false news

Days after the news of Babita ji and Tappu from 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' (TMKOC) dating in real life broke, the stars of the popular TV show, Munmun Dutta and Raj Anadkat took to social media on Sunday to share their side of the story.

In a two-part statement on Instagram - which now stands deleted - to the media and the general public, Dutta said she was appalled at the people for creating and believing the 'imaginary' stories.

"You can stoop to any level to create sensational articles or headlines at the cost of someone's dignity. But, are you going to take responsibility for wreaking havoc in their lives? If not, then you should be ashamed of yourself," her statement read.


Dutta also took the opportunity to talk about the late TV actor Sidharth Shukla who passed away on September 2 after a sudden heart attack at the age of 40. The actress said that she was disappointed with the media for not respecting privacy and "shoving" the cameras in the faces of two grieving women - who lost her love and her son - at a funeral for TRPs (target rating points).

In the second statement to her fans, the 33-year-old TV actress said she had better expectations from her fans, but now is "ashamed" to call herself a daughter of India.

Calling the society regressive, she said that people have been showering "filth" in the comment section, even the "so-called literate ones."

Dutta stated that people trying to age-shame, s**t-shame and mom-shame women at the cost of humour don't realise that they may be pushing them towards a mental breakdown.

"The 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," she said.


The sitcom has been running for 13 years. "13 years of entertaining people, and it didn't take 13 minutes for anyone to rip my dignity apart," she wrote.

Dutta has started shooting for the new season after a two-month lay-off for hurting religious sentiments in May. The TV actress was made to sign an undertaking on 'religious, casteist remarks'.

The undertaking prohibits TMKOC cast from using any foul language or making a casteist/religious remark that may hurt any sentiment.

In a separate statement on Instagram, the 24-year-old actor called the dating rumours "cooked up stories" that were spreading without his consent.

Anadkat urged the media and his fans to think about the repercussions these "false stories" can have on his life. "All the creative people out there, please channelise your creativity somewhere else. It will be helpful to you. May god bless them with good sense," he wrote.

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A post shared by Raj Anadkat (@raj_anadkat)

The fans have long been speculating a relationship after observing Anadkat's comments on Dutta's Instagram posts.

An exclusive Times Of India report suggested that the couple were head over heels in love with each other, and their families and TMKOC cast was aware about the said relationship.

The ETimes TV source had even confirmed that the TMKOC team respects the nine-year age difference between the duo, and are not shamed or teased for the same.