The last episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show had Diljit Dosanjh, Parineeti Chopra, and director Imtiaz Ali taking to the stage to promote their critically and commercially acclaimed Amar Singh Chamkila, which premiered on the streaming platform last week. All three of them were a hoot, and honestly, there was no need for the tasteless gags the show added on because Diljit himself is naturally charismatic and funny. The show ended on a high and paved the way for the new episode.
The fourth episode featured the supremely talented Vicky Kaushal and his brother Sunny Kaushal, who is also an upcoming actor. In the span of one decade, Vicky Kaushal has delivered some great roles and has an impressive filmography. He has chosen roles that are out of his comfort zone and those that leave a lasting impression on the audience.
Sunny Kaushal, on the other hand, has played only a handful of roles so far, and quite frankly, he might take time to reach the heights that his older brother has achieved for himself. What was impressive about their presence in the show that now has a potential audience of 192 countries is the casual way they talk about having humble beginnings. Vicky talks about having lived in the chawls of Mumbai and now becoming one of the bankable stars of the Hindi film industry. He is now married to a superstar himself.
The question-and-answer segment between the host and the guests is another highlight of the episode, as the brothers were honest about each other’s upbringing and habits. It is not that often that one gets to watch two actors being truthful about the lives they lead and talking about them on a public platform such as this one. One thing that must be lauded about Kapil Sharma is his ability to bring out the genuine personalities of the guests he invites. Ranbir Kapoor, Rohit Sharma, and Diljit Dosanjh couldn’t help but be themselves. They were too real.
This episode of the show exemplifies how simple these boys are and how they have managed to translate their life experiences into humor, which proves they are grounded and self-aware as human beings. This added a certain amount of charm to the show and improved the jokes of the host as well as the rest of the characters. A lot of the show is impromptu, especially the lines to be said in the gags. Most of the gags began in a banal manner, but they only got better because Vicky and Sunny Kaushal chose to add a few more lines, which enhanced the experience. The show began with the “Terminal” style set-up that had Sunil Grover as a woman stuck at the airport looking for her husband, which was cringeworthy as it failed to generate any laughs. Sunil Grover later appeared as a drunk engineer, which was the best part of the show. His acting improved manifold which proves Sunil Grover is very talented. Sunil Grover’s performance in this episode is one of the best seen on the show, and we wish the writers and the host gave him more space to offer gags like this that are genuinely funny and make the viewers laugh their hearts out.
Apart from Sunil Grover, Krushna Abhishek’s gag as a woman could be questionable, but his comedic piece in the show fared better than the last three unbearable episodes. The piece generated good laughs, even though there are problematic tropes about jumping on men and groping them. Male consent is never discussed in public, and shows like this should not promote such acts that violate men and their space. I’m not sure how relevant the gags are that have men crossdressing. This has been standard right from the start of the show, and the tradition has continued. It could be seen as progressive, with men comfortably moving in women’s clothing, or it could be regressive, as women are not given enough or better roles on stage shows such as this one. The only woman in the show is Archana Puran Singh, but the rest are just men.
There are some meta jokes delivered, which is good as it shows the makers are self-aware of their shortcomings, strengths, and popularity. The show ended with a melodious performance by Kapil Sharma, who from time to time is known to be a good singer, something acknowledged by AR Rahman himself. Kapil Sharma’s show, with this episode, becomes something to look forward to every week. The next episode features the legendary actor-producer Aamir Khan, who will be making his first appearance on a chat show after his last one on Koffee with Karan to speak candidly about his life. Kudos to Netflix and Kapil Sharma for being able to bring the man out of his shell, and from what we see in the trailer, the viewers will come to know a lot about his personal life as well.
