Gogi of 'Taarak Mehta…' has changed so much in 15 years: Started acting at the age of 7, mother said – got everything but son's childhood was snatched away

Samay Shah, who became famous by playing the role of Gogi in 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah', turned 22 on December 22. The show started in 2008 and when Samay started working in the show 15 years ago, he was 7 years old. Among the 20 cast members of the show, Samay is still the youngest cast member in age.

These days, Samay is doing a course in English Literature and in future, apart from acting, he would like to explore himself as a writer. During conversation with Dainik Bhaskar, Samay shared many things about his acting career and future planning.

There was no one my age on the set

Samay Shah said, 'I have been working in this industry since the age of 7. In the beginning I had done many small advertisements which became quite famous. After this I was offered 'Taarak Mehta…' and from there my real journey started. Since childhood, I have lived in an environment where everyone was older than me.

There was no one of my age on the set and perhaps that is why I started developing a bit of a competitive nature. Whenever I saw my elders doing good work, I was always hungry to do better than them. However, this competition proved beneficial for me. This has given me a stable growth in my career.

I started writing at the age of 17

He further said, 'When I was 7 years old, I did not understand what I had to do, but as time passed, I started considering my popularity as my responsibility. The audience has a lot of expectations from me. During my 10th class studies, I decided that I should give importance to my studies along with my acting.

I am very fond of writing. I started writing at the age of 17. First of all I wrote a poem which was very special for me. After that I started filling the pages with my thoughts.

Apart from acting, I would like to explore myself as a writer

Samay has been studying English Literature from Symbiosis College, Pune for the last few years. Regarding this he says, 'Bhavya (Bhavya Gandhi, old Tappu of Taarak Mehta show and cousin brother of Samay) motivated me to move ahead in this subject.

Actually, before taking admission in this college, I had written about 40 blogs and from there my confidence increased. These days, I am working on a novel and yes, in future, apart from acting, I would like to explore myself as a writer.

Didn't live a normal life like other children

According to Samay's mother Neema Shah, Samay may have earned a lot of name, money and fame from this show, but somewhere he is sad that he could not enjoy his childhood. Neema said, 'Samay has been playing the role of Gogi since childhood, hence he could not live a normal life like other children.

He always complained to me that I did not let him play with other children. Actually, he used to get tired and so I used to stop him. Today he tells me that even though his childhood was taken away from him, when he becomes a father, his children will see his childhood through this show. I became very emotional after hearing this from him.