Team Viva decodes the fluctuating graph of comedy king Kapil Sharma’s career now that his comeback show seems to have been called off for a while
like every other success story that begins with a dreamer who is unflinching in his commitment to single-minded pursuit, the protagonist of this tale got success, audience adulation and praise, fame and money beyond imagination. But what followed was the downfall that was the by-product of stardom, insecurities, competition and alcoholism. Comedian Kapil Sharma rescued the nation’s sense of humour and earned a cult following, making him a network and Bollywood favourite. Perhaps that lent him an air of invincibility and arrogance, which resulted in the mid-air brawl with one of his show’s pillars and colleague Sunil Grover and crumbled the very creative team who made him. Today, the same networks find him a liability because of the stale nature of his work, lack of professionalism and no-shows for recordings. He did try to make amends and attempted a comeback of sorts with Family Time with Kapil. It struggled to captivate audience attention in its first few episodes and has reportedly been suspended by the channel for almost a month. The reason behind it is that Kapil has been slipping into depressive bouts and cancelling shoots every week. While detractors are aplenty, even his friends like comedian Kiku Sharda are keeping a distance saying everybody should just allow him some space to bounce back.
The Rise
Kapil’s initiation of professional journey comedy-wise began with Hasde Hasande Raho on MH 1, when he was only 24-years-old. Not many people know that Kapil audtioned for The Great Indian laughter Challenge twice. In 2007, he auditioned from Amritsar and had to face rejection from his own city. But he didn’t feel dejected and headed off to Delhi to give it another try, where he finally got selected. At 27, he came out as a winner of the show with a prize money of Rs 10 lakhs in his pockets. With the cash prize poured in recognition from across the country. The comedian first turned host for Chote Miyaan, following it up with Ustaadon Ke Ustad. His singing prowess (touted to be his first love) was on display on Star Ya Rockstar, but he was not so successful in getting the votes and was soon eliminated.
After which he never looked back, he found himself sailing through Comedy Circus in six seasons of the show (2008-2013). It was a competitive environment with an array of other comedians doing their best but it was Kapil who took the winning trophy home in each edition. He became a household name. Interestingly, Kapil adopted his maternal surname. He is the son of a housewife and a Punjab Police head constable, Jeethendra Kumar Punj, who fell victim to cancer in 2004.
Soon he got the offer to come up with Comedy Nights with Kapil solo and the rest is history. The show debuted on June 22, 2013. The first half of it was focussed on sketch comedy while the latter was a celebrity talk show. Everyone, from newbies to A-listers, were happy to be part of the show. It made Kapil grow beyond a stand-up comedian and become a sought-after talk show host. But Kapil’s show was also as much about Ali Asgar, Sunil Grover, Kiku Sharda, Sumona Chakravarti, Upasana Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu. He was undoubtedly the binder. But since he was the face and the brand, he happened to land the most plum of assignments, be it as co-host of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and in 2015 co-host of the Filmfare Awards. The same year he made his film debut with Kis Kis Ko Pyaar Karoon, which did a business of over Rs 50 crore.
As Kapil’s contract with a leading channel came to a close following ego clashes, something that would result in ultimately collapsing his strengths, he found a new home at rival GEC with The Kapil Sharma Show on similar lines with a medley of skits, celeb interviews and a grand entry with dance numbers. Celeb loyalists came to this show too. And why wouldn’t theyIJ The TRPs were good like his previous show and the producers saw it as a perfect opportunity to market new shows and releases.
The fall
Kapil Sharma’s downfall from being the highest paid comedian and celebrity on the small screen came as a sudden surprise to a lot of people but few individuals in the business predicted it beforehand. It is easy to garner success but maintaining it is not everybody’s cup of tea. It takes a lot of emotional support from family and friends to stay humble and down to earth once you are immensely successful.
It all began when the actor had a fallout with Colors TV channel due to major clashes and the last episode of Comedy Nights With Kapil was aired in January 2016. With reports of it surfacing on various portals, the comedian made a comeback within a few months on a rival channel with an opulent set titled, The Kapil Sharma Show. Though, it was a big change and a risky move to change channels but since the format and the cast remained the same, the audience were undeterred. The old ensemble cast including Sunil Grover, Kiku Sharda, Sumona Chakravarti and Ali Asgar reinvented their characters to add a new element in the show.
It was a rather smooth sail till things turned worse when a public tiff took place in a flight between Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover where allegations were made by the co-star that Kapil had turned abusive and heaped insults in an alcohol-induced supremacist, egoistic state. The war of the core team spilled out in the social media, with colleagues warning he should not “act like a god” and Sunil himself drifting apart, pitching himself for other shows. Other key cast members like Asgar and Sugandha Mishra, who supported the comedian through the best of years, started to exit the show. With rumours and gossip mills churning out news about constant cancellations and non-renewal of contracts, the comedian hit bottom with his show garnering low TRPS, resulting in murmurs of alcoholism and mental health issues. Though his loyal fanbase was waiting for the release of Firangi, he was unable to bounce back to his earlier position and status.
A series of tweets where a journalist and the comedian filed cases against each other, stoked fresh speculation. Now Preeti Simoes, creative director of The Kapil Sharma Show and Comedy Nights, whom Kapil has accused of misrepresenting facts and whom his friend says was ruining Kapil simply because he was no longer interested in a creative partnership, has clarified that she wants him to get better physically and mentally.
For each individual, stardom has a different definition. Fame comes at a price that most people are unable to pay. Though with success comes a lot of money and recognition, the constant criticism, audience judgments, no privacy in your personal life and enemies ready to throw you off the cliff do make it hard to maintain sanity. Instant fame is an even trickier concept to handle. When you come from a humble background and you are deluged with excess, you are not very discerning. In rare cases, a good friend circle and family helps you but if you have lost sight of who you are, no one will have the time to help you. Sometimes, it is the ego that becomes our biggest enemy. In a competitive world of show business where each day, newer talent crops up, it is important to keep your friends, co-stars and most importantly your creatives close. They are the ones who support you and help you when the going gets hard. They protect you at every turn. But once you turn arrogant and feel that you are superior to everybody, it doesn’t take long to free-fall. Power is addictive and the high is unlike anything you would feel but what many forget is, power is something that has a short life-span. Most people who end up on the dark side after attaining success are trapped into substance dependence to distract themselves from internal turmoil. There’s hope for recovery yet provided Kapil professionalises his public persona and does not expose his innermost self to the wild toss-up of social media.