03 October,2021 09:10 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ghanshyam Nayak/Pic: Hitlist
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actor Ghanshyam Nayak, who plays Nattu kaka, breathed his last today evening. He was 76 and was battling with cancer since December. The last rites will be performed tomorrow morning at the electric crematorium at Kandivali West.
Nayak had recently resumed shooting for the comic caper after undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of cancer. He was back on the set after four months and was keen to work as long as he can. "Being on the set gives me joy," he had recently said to Hitlist.
In December 2020, it was reported that Ghanshyam Nayak was unwell. The senior actor was having severe uneasiness in the glands of his neck and had undergone surgery for the same.
Nayak started as a child artiste in 1960 and went on to have a crowded career in Gujarati and Hindi films and on the Gujarati stage. He even lent his voice as a playback singer, teaming up with Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor.
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He'll however be remembered most fondly for playing Natwarlal Prabhashankar Undhaiwala aka Nattu Kaka, who handles the accounts section of the electricals store run by the serial's principal character, Jethalal Gada, essayed by Dilip Joshi. Whenever Jethalal assigns Nattu Kaka some work he doesn't want to do, he pretends to not have heard and shouts, "Heh, 'mujhe kuch kaha'? (Did you say something to me?)"
The show has been running successfully for over 10 years and has seen several replacements of actors playing pivotal roles for varied reasons. The most favourite character Daya Ben, played by Disha Vakani, was sorely missed. Disha had left the show on maternity break but didn't return even after two years. During an episode shot during Navratri, she made a brief appearance on the show albeit through a video call between her and Jethalal (Dilip Joshi). With Ghanshyam Nayak's demise, the show has lost yet another beloved artist.
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is one of the most popular sitcoms which airs every Monday to Friday at 8:30 pm on SAB TV.
With inputs from agencies
