Exclusive - Taarak Mehta's Mandar Chandwadkar aka Bhide: Dilip Joshi is a stalwart, never imagined that I would be acting opposite him one day

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah's Mandar Chandwadkar, who plays the role of Atmaram Bhide is in a celebratory mood as his show has completed 14 years on July 28. He thanked the viewers for supporting the show and showering love on them. The actor, who switched his career from engineering to acting, and shifted base to India from Dubai, said that he is happy that the risk paid off really well. Here's his exclusive conversation with ETimes TV. (Photo: Instagram)

I would like to thank the audience for their love and patience. Even after 14 years, they still love us like before. We pray to God that they continue to love us and we are able to entertain them. (Photo: Instagram)

Of course, my decision has paid off very well. I always say that one has to always follow their passion and I did the same thing. It was quite a risky decision at that time when I decided to return from Dubai to India, leaving my job in 2000. It was a difficult decision as there were very limited channels but I always felt strongly about following my passion. I wanted to be an actor. I had to struggle from 2000 to 2008 but I am glad everything has paid off really well. I bagged Taarak Mehta after my struggle period and the rest is history. (Photo: Instagram)

People still refer to me with my character name Atmaram Bhide. I still get my laundry bill on my on-screen character’s name Bhide. But one thing that has happened due to social media is that people have started knowing me by my real name Mandar Chandwadkar. Thanks to social media, people now know very well that Bhide is played by Mandar Chandwadkar. (Photo: Instagram)

Yes, we miss Nattu Kaka, Kavi Kumar Azad bhai and Shishupal from our production team and our makeup dada Anand bhai or Arvind ji. They passed away during this journey and we miss them daily. I feel Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is not a feeling, it is a way of life. I am living Bhide’s life more than my real life. I have been playing this character for the last 14 years and shooting for it daily. I don’t consider myself playing this character, I feel I am living Bhide’s life. The moment I come on the sets I just get into the character. (Photo: Instagram)

Touchwood, my off-screen equation with Dilip bhai is amazing. Dilip bhai is a stalwart for me and I have seen him performing shows since a young age. He has always been one of my favourite television actors. I really liked him in a show which aired on Star Plus. It is one of my favourite characters played by him. I had never imagined that one day I would get a chance to act opposite him in a show. I have learnt so much from him. We both have a theatre background and if you have a co-star like Dilip Joshi then nobody can stop you from learning, provided you really know how to learn from him. Our chemistry is amazing in the show and I know that. In fact, we have started to think alike. We always have an amazing time working with him. (Photo: Instagram)

I also enjoy working with Sonalika Joshi who plays my onscreen wife on the show. She is also a great actress and I will always be thankful of her because she is the one who referred me to this show. She referred to my name here. She came for an audition here in 2008 and called me to inform me that the production house was looking for an actor to play the Bhide’s role. She asked me to go and audition for it. Had she not insisted, I would have not bagged this show. We had worked together in a show before doing TMKOC but our chemistry worked much better here. (Photo: Instagram)

I have made it very clear to my son and authorities at his school to not give him any kind of special treatment. I have specifically mentioned that he is a common man’s son and he should be treated the same way. He is living his life and should not live under any kind of pressure that he is Bhide’s son. Also, we are not very glamorous in real life. Our characters in the show are also very relatable. The audience when they meet us on the train or anywhere they behave with us very normally. We are representing the common man on the show. (Photo: Instagram)

I feel Taarak worked because the timing was the key factor. The show came when saas bahu shows were ruling the TV industry. TMKOC has been made before but this time the casting, execution and timing when it was launched played an important part. Maharashtrian people are playing Maharashtrian, Punjabi actors are playing a Punjabi role, Bengali is playing a Bengali character so here casting played an important role. We managed to catch the smallest nuances of each language. This I think is the USP of the show. (Photo: Instagram)