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Dilip Joshi, who plays the beloved Jethalal Gada in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, recently opened up about how he landed his iconic role. In an exclusive chat with Telly Talk India, the actor shared an interesting story about his old friendship with Asif Sheikh Modi and how that bond eventually led him to the show. Dilip also revealed that he was actually given a choice between two characters before becoming the Jethalal audiences love today.

Dilip Joshi shared that his connection with Asif Modi goes way back to their college days. "Actually, Asif (Modi) bhai and I have known each other since college days. However, we weren't in the same college, we were in different colleges but used to take part in inter-college competitions."

He recalled how their friendship began, sharing, "There used to be drama competitions, and that's where we would meet during those competitions. At one such competition, he did a play very well, called Bobby Breaker, and in that, he also played a stammering character very beautifully."

Dilip was impressed and decided to reach out. He recalled, "I saw that, so I went to meet him and say, 'Wow, you did really well.' That's how we got to know each other. Then he also saw my play at an inter-college competition, so that's how our acquaintance began, I think since around 1980."

This friendship stayed strong over the years. "After that, whenever he was associated with any serial, he always called me." This eventually led to the moment when Dilip was offered a major decision regarding his role in .

 

Dilip recalled the exact moment when he had to make his choice, saying, "When I went to meet him at his office, and he told me, 'Look, there's Champaklal and Jethalal, I'll give you the choice of which role you want to play.'"

He explained why neither role initially felt right to him. "I said I won't fit as Champaklal and I won't fit as Jethalal either, because in the Gujarati version of Tarak Bhai, all the characters were kind of caricatures."

Dilip went into detail about the physical description of the character. "And the character of Jethalal used to be very thin and lanky, with a Charlie Chaplin-like moustache and all that. Based on that, I said I don't think I'll suit that role, but I can try for the character of Jethalal."

Asif Modi had full faith in Dilip's abilities. "He said, 'Okay, I know that whatever you do, you'll do it well.'" This trust turned out to be the beginning of one of Indian television's most iconic characters.