The first episode of Netflix’s comedy show, The Great Indian Kapil Show, was lukewarm, yet the guests were amazing. Neetu Kapoor and her family, and the stories related to their family members were the highlights of the first episode. Even though the entire episode fell flat, it was a good start to the first season of the show on the streaming giant’s platform. The first episode paved the way for the next one. The new guests this time are the star cricketer, Shreyas Iyer and the captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma. Both are acclaimed Indian batsmen who have left quite an impact on the international game and received laurels for their performances in winning many cricket matches for Team India at home and abroad.
Kapil Sharma right from the inception of his show has invited many cricketers from India, Pakistan, Australia, and West Indies and several veteran players as guests on the show. As said by Kapil Sharma himself, Indians are crazy about cricket and the whole country finds joy in not just winning but learning about the behind-the-scenes drama that unfolds in the dressing room. Cricketers are as big as film stars in the country, and learning any gossip, scoop, or stories from the ground is always a hoot. This is exactly what is expected from the ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, but unfortunately, the entire episode is filled with extended comedic gags and not enough conversations between the cricketers and the host. Kapil Sharma and his team probably realized the cricketers would not divulge any locker room talk. In portions, the viewer could notice the cricketers fake laughing because most of the humor did not land.
There were two gags involving Sunil Grover, an engineer turned cheerleader, and a faux Kapil Dev who is included out of nowhere. Sunil Grover’s jokes work well until he strips down and begins to gyrate in a vulgar fashion in front of the cricketers just for laughs. These laughs are not genuine and are forced. There is honestly nothing funny about this type of tasteless physical comedy.
Netflix deserves better chat shows for the Indian audience and not just a repacked version of the older Kapil Sharma show, which was tasteless most of the time. The laughter is artificial, and only very few jokes work. The quintessential ‘Sharmaji ka beta’ jokes worked only because they were written well and the presence of Rohit Sharma brings a charm to the humor. That joke never gets old. Besides that, the fat shaming jokes and men cross-dressing as women jokes just do not land because they are not written and constructed properly for the viewers to enjoy. We wish Netflix would request Kapil Sharma and his team to work on their humor and come back with material that is laughable if not unbearable.
Some of the humor about IPL and the TV antennas of the 1980s and 1990s worked but in the bigger scheme of things, in the context of the entire episode, there was a lack of sensitivity and subtlety. All the gags are very loud and become cringe after a point, and one would end up feeling sad for the guests who seem stuck with no way out. Rohit Sharma’s exit from the show was awkward and sudden. Kapil Sharma began a Pol-Khol segment but that went nowhere. The only genuine portion of the episode must be Kapil Sharma asking about the 2023 World Cup loss. Rohit Sharma choked up speaking about the loss, but he is grateful to have the support of the family and the nation, who appreciated the team’s nonstop winning streak throughout the entire tournament, which needs to be lauded for many years to come. The entire bit on cheerleaders and objectifying them for their skin color is outdated and not cool.
The Navjot Singh Sidhu gag is a random addition to the show, but one wonders if the man himself would ever make a comeback on Kapil’s show. Navjot Singh Sidhu was a huge part of Kapil Sharma’s shows from the start. Since the man is back in the commentary box, making a return to The Great Indian Kapil Show as a guest is not a bad idea.
Overall, the second episode was a downgrade from the first one, which in hindsight the viewers would feel was very wholesome. Not that Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer are not interesting personalities; if only they were asked better questions about their lives and games. Reducing every man to be his wife’s stooge is a practice that needs to be on the way out. This episode was dull, with no redemption in sight. Hopefully, the next episode will have some laughs as Diljit Dosanjh and the team of Chamkila will be on the show to promote their new Netflix film. Diljit is known for genuine conversations and laughter, so we’re expecting the next episode to be a hoot.
