Kapil Sharma: Not just a comedian

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of low-brow humour-filled The Kapil Sharma Show (TKSS). Unlike lakhs of people who tune into Sony one the dot at 9 30 PM every weekend, I just catch snippets here and there on social media of Kapil talking to celebs. This was mainly because the umpteen characters he had on the show, along with him in the name of comedy, did little to tickle me. Having said that, I do like Kapil Sharma and his particular brand of humour where he ribbed celebs for everything from politics to their eating habits. As soon as his Netflix special ‘I’m Not Done Yet’ was announced, most people (including yours truly) were excited as they were eagerly waiting to see a new side to the comedian.
When the special released on January 28, social media erupted with both positive and negative comments about the ‘new’ Kapil Sharma that had emerged. ‘I’m Not Done Yet’ was a far more classy and heartfelt show and unlike anything we had seen before from the man who won ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ in 2007. The ambience, the set, the outfit and the stage itself for the special showed that Kapil would not be doing his usual routine. And he delivered in style. He spoke about his life journey and how his dad had supported him but never got to see him succeed; acknowledged the issues he had, including depression and alcoholism; and thanked his wife, Ginni Chathrath, for believing in him and standing by him. What he spoke about came straight from the heart and didn’t have the low-brow humour or hilarious one-liners that’s par for the course on TKSS. This special wasn’t about trying to be funny every minute – it was about making people realise he is not just a comic machine but someone who is as human and flawed as anyone else. And it was for this particular reason, it connected with so many people on multiple levels.
Having been on television for nearly 15 years now, the man who landed in Mumbai from Amritsar with Rs 1200 in his pocket, has grown to be an integral part of pop culture today. It is not easy being successful and staying at the top of one’s game for years on end. But Kapil has managed just that. Some may see his special as a reward for finally having attained a certain level worthy enough to be featured. Others may see it as an extension of his success story. Whatever may be the reason, Kapil is definitely the only actor-comedian who can gatecrash Shah Rukh Khan’s party and hang out with the Bollywood Badshah till the wee hours of the morning.
‘I’m Not Done Yet’ clearly shows that there’s more to Kapil, the man and comedian, and he wants to achieve more as well in his career. Given that Netflix finally gave him a special, we won’t be surprised if he ends up with a series on an OTT platform as well.  In fact, that could be on his bucket list too.
Kapil represents one of the many thousands of people who want to make it big on screen as an actor, singer, comedian, and so on. His success story gives hope to so many others who come from small towns and cities to Mumbai every day with stars in their eyes. I think the special is a tribute not just to his father but to all these people as well. Kapil Sharma has shown what you can achieve if you have talent and work hard to make your dreams a reality. And his special ‘I’m Not Done Yet’ tells us that he is going to continue working hard to give us more laughs and more heartfelt stories to make us smile. We are not done yet with you too, Kapil!