Taarak Mehta.....the new challenge

The future of Taarak Mehta ka ooltah chasmah hangs in the balance with the producers Neela Telefilms reportedly still not striking a deal over the show’s extension with the channel (SAB). We had first reported on this stand-off in the Tellychakkar magazine. Back then it was murmured that producer Asit Modi is contemplating taking his show to another channel. And speculation is that there is more to it than meets the eye. A little birdie informs us, “Neela Telefilms isn’t taking Taarak to another channel. But they are producing another show for this channel. If talks with SAB fail, then it could pretty much mark the end of Taarak... It will be difficult for Neela Telefilms to take their show elsewhere. History shows that such steps haven’t been that fruitful. The initial contract expires by July but thus far there has been no agreement over the extension.” Rumour also has it that relations between the producer and channel have a soured a bit. SAB has been coming up with more concepts which have a Gujarati background and that hasn’t been taken kindly by Neela Telefilms. Maniben.com is one of them. Then there is Optimystix’s Boleh Toh Patels. Producer Modi simply refused to comment. SAB business head Anooj Kapoor on his part didn’t sound too perturbed. Says he, “I don’t know where you get these tales from. There is no issue with Taarak…. It’s our number one show. The current contract runs up to 15 August. It’s too early to talk about it now. We’ll be holding extension talks at the appropriate time. I see no problem and I’m sure Taarak.. will go on to run on SAB for 10 years.” Taarak.. fans are hoping the issue will get resolved soon. Are both parties listening?