Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’s Rajesh Kumar opens up about on-set bullying

One of the lead cast members of popular 2000s sitcom, Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai, Rajesh Kumar recently opened up about his experiences on-set, including tales of ragging, bullying and harassment. In fact, it was so bad that Rajesh, who played the iconic character Rosesh Sarabhai, could not muster the courage to bring his wife on set.

Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai actor Rajesh Kumar opens up about how he was "ragged" by cast members

On a YouTube channel, Rajesh said that he was often mocked, since it was his first attempt in a comedy series, which made him feel overwhelmed.

“I was ragged mostly because I was doing comedy for the first time, and on top of that, I was acting opposite stalwarts like Satish ji and Ratna ji. I was nervous throughout the 1.5 years of shooting. Though I was married, I felt like a bachelor on set because that’s how they treated me. I never brought my wife there. I didn’t want her to see how they treated me–it scared me", he said on the channel.

In fact, one time, his co-worker Satish left him in tears, for not remembering his lines. However, now when he reminds Satish of that time, he seems not to remember.

“There was this one scene where I had to deliver a 1.5-page dialogue about the activities I did while being an insomniac. I kept forgetting the lines–we did at least eight takes. Satish ji got angry and said, ‘Call me when he remembers his lines.’ The way he said it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was anger, insult, or just ragging. After that, I went to my director and asked for some time. Even now, I remind Satish ji that he once made me cry, but he never agrees," Rajesh said.

However, Rajesh still credits his co-actors for making Rosesh such a memorable character, saying the magic came from their reactions. He shared that their bond remains strong off-screen, with the cast still calling each other by their Sarabhai vs Sarabhai character nicknames, keeping the sense of family alive even years after filming ended. Moreover, he admits that he learnt a lot from the team as a whole.

The show, which still has a solid cult following, features an ensemble cast of Ratna Pathak Shah, Rupali Ganguly, Sumeet Raghavan, Satish Shah and Rajesh Kumar.

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