Stories about unexpected people taking charge of family businesses are not that uncommon. We have seen through many forms of cinema how one who was never expected to be the face of change ends up becoming one. We have The Godfather movies and Gangs of Wasseypur movies as a testament to how a candidate who was never seen as someone who would take the position of power takes up the seat only to completely underestimate their knowledge and understanding of their surroundings.
Kapil, the youngest son of Savitri in Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo, was all about not wanting to ever come back to his hometown of Hastipur. But he had to. His mother has been living there for years, and so has his wife Kajal, who has never left the town, let alone traveled to America with Kapil. Another reason he is coming back home is because he has been fired from his job in the USA. He has no option but to come home for a break. Kapil starts his journey back home to Rann Pradesh with his elder brother Harish. Harish is a man who is still stuck in his twenties, while Kapil comes to be a more mature and a practical minded man. Kapil is also a grounded person who thinks with a straight head. He does not like anything complex or anything that would force him to do something against his will. Kapil believes in following a straight road ahead and not allowing himself to get distracted from his goal, which is to head back to America with Kajal and have a life away from Hastipur.
Kapil was visibly upset to come back to his hometown because he was not used to living in the rustic, arid geography anymore. With Janmashtami just two weeks away and understanding how much it means to his mother, he comes back. A trip back home could be a good break, considering his job situation. Kapil and Harish come across as brothers who are always on two ends of the spectrums. They never agree on anything and end up quarreling most of the time. Harish is the delusional type, whereas Kapil is the exact opposite. Kapil was never the inquisitive one because he was not driven by curiosity to know anything beyond the knowledge he had. This is his nature, as such. Kapil wants to stay away from trouble, and he keeps begging his brother Harish to do the same. He believes in keeping life as simple as it is.
Things turned upside down for him when their mother revealed to them that she was not just another ordinary mother. She is a drug mafia queen and runs a business from the haveli they live in. She owns a 500-crore drug cartel and has been running it for decades, which is something she did not let her sons know up until now. Kapil was in shock. His mind and body could not comprehend the fact that his childhood was fake. His mother, Savitri, made sure to keep him and Harish in the dark just to be able to protect them and make their lives as normal as possible. Kapil is not okay with hearing that explanation because he now knows the life he led as a child was a lie. His mother could not have been clearer about what she was doing, and that made Kapil’s mind boggle with thoughts and questions that almost led him to spiral. Kapil had many questions for his mother, but he had no idea how to even put them forward to a person who is known to be ruthless, unlike the picture he had of his mother, a naive woman born and raised in a village, someone who survives on the 500 dollars that Kapil used to send her every month.
Kapil has the hardest time comprehending the fact that his mother and Kajal are indeed part of the drug syndicate. Even though Harish is quick to come to terms with the fact and starts behaving like the son of a drug mafia, Kapil becomes more somber and starts spiraling over the fact that there could be jail time awaiting their family members. He cannot afford to lose his family at this moment, especially his mother and wife. Even though Kajal likes him or at least pretends to like him, Kapil mentally stays away from all the talk that is happening at home about the syndicate. Things change when Kapil learns of the affair that is going on between Shanta and Deeman. He is visibly tense to see two people who are supposed to be like siblings falling in love with each other. Kapil, for the first time, remains calm and does not hyperventilate. The person who informed him of the affair happens to be their family driver, Jogi. Kapil makes a quick decision and takes Jogi out of the house. Kapil had no other option but to kill Jogi because he sensed that if Jogi was willing to let Kapil know about it, he would not hesitate to blackmail any one in their family about the sin he thinks Shanta and Deeman have committed. In a split-second decision, the man kills Jogi by running his car over him. Kapil did not know he had it in him to commit murder. He was the one who kept talking about staying away from the syndicate, and now, with this murder he has committed, he inadvertently becomes a part of his mother’s inner circle.
Something in him changed because Kapil initially did not let this secret of Jogi’s death be known to anyone. He was not sure how his family would react. If he informs his mother of Jogi’s death, he will have to explain why he had to kill him. Kapil was ashamed to even think about what was going on between Shanta and Deeman. Slowly, Kapil turns ruthless because the crime he committed had an impact on him. It felt like he tasted blood, and he wanted more of it. Kapil, out of disgust and desperation, informs Kajal of the affair. Kajal is not surprised to hear this, but Kapil is still not in the right frame of mind. He confronts Shanta and Deeman, which leads to a scuffle. The scuffle, unfortunately, leads to Kapil accidentally killing Don Jean. Don Jean was his mother’s closest confidante, and with him gone, there was a void left in her mother’s heart. Kapil apologizes for this death, but Savitri ends up congratulating him for listening to his instinct to kill Jogi. If Jogi had remained alive, he would have spread nasty rumors about their family.
After getting this validation from his mother, Kapil slowly starts becoming serious about the syndicate, starts involving himself in its work, and starts to make decisions as well. He likes the power he gets from this. The sense of power becomes a part of him, and he decides to stay back in Hastipur and help his mother take care of the syndicate. Harish was the one who was acting like a brat, but it turns out he realizes the women here do not need his help. But Kapil’s mind has changed, and he is willing to stay back to understand the power dynamics and the high he gets from it. To showcase his dominance over Deeman, he wins the local dahi handi contest against Deeman on the day of Janmashtami. His win was the ushering in of a new Kapil, which his mother is proud to see. Will she make him her heir after noticing changes in the way he behaves? Surely Savitri saw the man transitioning from a man who wanted to be away from this life to one who now wanted to stay back with his family and embrace this life. Kapil’s transition was something unexpected. An arc that took its time, but it surely did its work. Kapil is a different person as the show ends.
