Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Kapil Sharma

Kapil Sharma’s  journey as a professional comic actor began on a regional channel . He got a good response from Punjab for it. Then he tried to get into Laughter Challenge. But they rejected him. He auditioned again.  Ironically the same judges who had rejected him ultimately declared him the winner on Laughter Challenge.

Kapilhas gone through many phases in my life and career. He even served as a drama teacher in  girls’ colleges. That was a seasonal job.And he kept wondering, would he be coaching girls how to act all his life? That’s when he gravitated towards television.

Kapilwanted to be a  singer . He used to sing in school . Then in college he took to doing serious theatre acting for about 12 years.

Kapilacquired a taste for stand-up comedy by observation.He comes from Amritsar where people have a lot of time to snoop into their neighbours’ lives. Kapil’s mother has a sharp sense of humour.

Kapil’s  closest friend is Dinesh. They  grew up together in Amritsar. He accompanies Kapileverywhere. “I wouldn’t know what I’d do without him. We share a common passion for music. In fact he plays drums in the band that you saw on Comedy Nights,” Kapil confessed to me .

Kapil only laid out one pre-condition for himself when he started out.He decided to stay clean with my comedy. Kapil felt it’s  easy to raise laughs by talking dirty. “When people say mine is the first comedy show they can watch with their children I feel  very happy,” he said to me.

This is not the first time Kapilhas had a spat with Sunil Grover. When in 2014 Sunil broke away to do his own show Kapil said to me ,“He should have never left our show. Sunil was part of a very collaborative and creative team.We were all part of the success of our show. I am saying this with not a shred of excessive humility, but the show belongs to the entire talented team. what would the show be without them? Sunil was  an integral part of the team. .He’s my senior. I’ve the highest regard for his talents.And I am not the kind to feel threatened or competitive about anyone. In fact I go out of my way to ensure every member of my team has a chance to take centre stage, so I can relax. Sunil must have been provoked into leaving by people around him.”

In 2014 kapiladopted a pet dog whom he now loves more than many of his colleagues.It was during a visit to his friend Dinesh’s house that Kapil was introduced to Zanjeer. “He used to be a police dog  , but has now been abandoned. I immediately fell in love with him. My father used to be in the police service. He died when I was only 15. When my mother saw Zanjeer she immediately said, ‘Your father has sent him to us.’ In no time at all he has become everyone’s favourite at my work and at home,” Kapil said to me.

Kapil is prone to put on weight and has a huge phobia about being overweight.Hence all those jokes about people’s paunches on his show.

When I  asked him some years ago if his success had gone to his head here’s what he said. “Not at all! I don’tknow why people change with success. The junta has made you, why get arrogant with them?A comic actor isalways rooted to reality. You must have noticed comedians never come from affluent backgrounds. They arealways  from humble backgrounds.Birlas and Tatas don’t foster comic talent.I’ve seen it all. I’ve faced the jostle of local trains and now I travel business class. I can laugh at life’s adversities.I’d be foolish to turn arrogant and put on shades in a dark room.”