"I'll Never Quit Comedy Nights," Says Kapil Sharma

Kapil Sharma’s rise on television from being a stand-up comedian to the country’s no.1 entertainer is the stuff fairy tales are made of. Having conquered the TRPs with his show Comedy Nights With Kapil one would think Kapil would be impatient to move to another level. Though he has said no to several movie offers Kapil has agreed to star on Yash Raj Films’ Bank Chor. But where is the time? In a conversation with Subhash K Jha, Kapil reveals he is not willing to allow his show Comedy Nights With Kapil to suffer at any cost.

Kapil, your one tweet has caused a nation-wide furore. Apparently decided to end the show without consulting Colors?

(Sighs) I give my life and blood to the show. Even now as I talk to you I haven’t slept for the last 36 hours. I’ll never give up the show. I just wanted a break because I was exhausted.

Absolutely. I hear the channel was taken aback by your tweet announcing the show’s end. What made you take that shocking decision?

Every show has it own profile and destiny. I did the Laughter Challenge, then Comedy Circus. They had their own unique format. The format on my Comedy Nights With Kapil required me to put together 26 episodes around the adventures of 6 family members. The 26 episodes stretched into 50 and then into a 100 episodes. I felt we needed to reinvent ourselves.

But the TRP ratings are staggering. Why would you want to change something so spectacularly successful?

It’s not about the TRPs only. It’s also about that creative satisfaction that every artiste craves for. Just being successful cannot be enough. Look at Lataji or Bachchan Saab. Their search for excellence inspires me. This show means the world to me. I’ve been given up obscene amounts of money for other work to concentrate on this show. Do you know, I gave up 6 film offers because I had no time for them.

Yes , I am aware of the barrage of movie offers that came your way until you finally said yes to the Yash Raj offer?

That’s right. Before I said yes to Yash Raj’s Bank Chor I turned down some really good film offers including one by Sunil Manchanda the producers of Tere Naam. I really loved the story. I also said no Farhan Akhtar’s offer. I loved his story too. I felt really awful saying no to this one. I folded my hands and said sorry to Farhan. Sajid Khan also wants to sign me. The Yash Raj film I signed was supposed to go on the floors in March 2014. Now it’s June. I am still not able to give them my dates. Actors crave to be in Yash Raj films. And here I am, delaying the shooting. I don’t want them to think I am arrogant. But I consider Comedy Night to be bigger than any film. The biggest of stars come on my show. Now I wonder when I do my first feature film I can’t go on Comedy Nights With Kapil to promote. Where will I go?

Farhan’s film was a loss, I’d say?

I didn’t see it that way. When Farhan made that offer I had just started doing Comedy Nights. I wanted to show to the world that I could run a successful show for a year. For me at that point of time getting the show on the right track was more important than anything in the world. For one whole year I’ve worked like a mad man. I don’t even have time to meet my mother. For me no one is more important than my mother. Mere ko kisi channel ne nahin banaya hai. Mere ko meri Maa aur mere muqaddar ne banaya hai. Whatever I do, I do it for. Ek saal se main show ke liye apni neend, chayan sab kuch kho rahaa hoon. I felt I needed a break.

But apparently the channel wants to build Comedy Nights as the Seinfeld of India and they have persuaded you to change your mind?

I don’t know what Seinfeld is. But if they feel that way they should treat the show that way. The comedy shows in the West come in seasons. Let Comedy Nights also be seasonal. They should give me breaks. But breaks toh dur ki baat, they won’t let me make the show weekly instead of by-weekly.

Apparently the Channel can’t afford to let you go because the ratings of your show alone are higher than the aggregate ratings of all their other popular shows?

If that is the case I don’t want to think about it. But I do know people wait for my show every week. I don’t want to sound boastful because my mother would slap me if I became vain. But when I left Comedy Circus it lost its popularity. Comedy Nights and every member of my Comedy family have become popular. I want the show to grow. For this I need a break of a month at least. Main creative aadmi hoon. I have grown from regional to national channels. Today by God’s grace my show is watched all over the world. But we can’t spread ourself thinly. You can’t apportion daal meant for 3 people to 9 people. True, no show in the history of Indian television has remained no.1 uninterrupted for a 100 episodes. But I don’t want to compromise on quality.
So once and for all are you planning to quit Comedy Nights?

I did 300 episodes of Comedy Circus. I am not the kind to abandon a show. Let me tell you, the offers that are coming my way are extremely tempting. I’ve no complaints against Colors. They’ve been wonderful to me.