Tarak Mehta's Ooltah Chashmah: Tanmay Vekaria, who won the hearts of the audience by playing the role of Bagha in 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah', does not need any identity today. His excellent comic timing and different style have made him popular in every household. But his journey to reach this height of success was not easy at all. There was a time when he had no work, family responsibilities were increasing and he was helping run the household by doing a job earning just Rs 700 per month. Many times he felt that perhaps his dream of acting would remain unfulfilled, but he did not give up.
Recently, in an old interview, Tanmay Vekariya has shared many interesting stories while remembering his days of struggle. He told how working in theater with Dilip Joshi and Disha Vakani gave a new direction to his career, how despite being unemployed for several months, he did not lose hope and ultimately fate got him the role of 'Baagha'.
Tanmay Vekariya was born in a lower middle class family in Kandivali, Mumbai. His father Arvind Vekaria is a well-known name in Gujarati theatre. Since childhood, he developed a passion for acting after seeing his father acting on stage. After completing his graduation in 1999, he started looking for work and gave auditions in many production houses, but he did not get any special opportunity for about one and a half years.
Seeing the financial condition of the house, his father advised him to do a permanent job. After this he started working with his uncle, where his first salary was only Rs 700 and along with it he got second class train pass. Along with his job, he also continued doing theatre, but after several consecutive plays failing, he decided to leave theater for some time.
During this time, Dilip Joshi, who is today famous as 'Jethalal', gave him a small role in a play. At that time Tanmay was married and also had a daughter. The responsibilities of the family had increased and the income was very less. But because of this drama he started getting recognition. After this he got another drama, in which Disha Vakani was in the lead role. From here his acting career got a new direction.
Tanmay started his career from Gujarati TV industry, where he used to get up to Rs 1200 a day. Later Asit Kumar Modi and JD Majithia gave him a chance to do small roles in Hindi TV shows. He did cameo roles in many popular shows like 'Baa Bahu Aur Baby', 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai' and 'Yes Boss'. But he got his first big recognition from 'Moneyben.com', in which he played the role of Smriti Irani's deaf-mute younger brother. However, after this show he remained unemployed for four months and had no work. He had even made up his mind to take up an accounting job again.
It was during this difficult period that his luck took a turn. Earlier he had come for a small role in 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah', but on the set he met Sohil Bhai, who advised him to audition for the role of Bagha. After the audition he was selected. He had a good friendship with Dilip Joshi since his theater days, due to which the audience liked their onscreen chemistry. Today Tanmay Vekaria is counted among the most popular actors of TV.
