Bharti Singh recalls facing harassment in her early days and support from Kapil Sharma: ‘I slapped men twice my size’

Bharti Singh further recalled a conversation with Kapil Sharma, which changed her perspective about the whole thing. “When I started doing shows with Kapil, he noticed the organiser who would get up on stage and click pictures while putting his hands on my back or shoulders. He said one day, ‘Hath kyun rakhne deti hai‘ (Why do you let them touch you?). I used to say, ‘Uncle hai, beti ki tarah kar rahe hoge (He is like an uncle; maybe he thinks of me like a daughter).’ Kapil replied, ‘Koi aisa nahi hota, jo bhi aaye bolo seedhe khadhe hokar photo le (No one is like that. Whenever someone asks for a picture, tell them to stand straight while taking it.’ Kapil bhai taught me so much and told me that no one can treat a woman like that. I didn’t do these live shows, and I didn’t know about all this, but he told me all about it.”

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Bharti also admitted that she was extremely shy at the start of her career, to the extent that she could never bring herself to ask for the payments she was owed. She said, “I got scammed many times regarding the fees of shows. I used to travel for six hours straight with my mother, and they used to tell me, ‘Bharti Ji, aap performance karo, mata ji ko payment de dege (You go and perform. We will give the payment to your mother).’ I used to ask my mother after if they paid her, and she used to say no. They used to give other excuses for not paying, for example, ‘My wife is bringing the money,’ or ‘I’ll send the money to the hotel.’ I used to save their contact names as ‘show nahi karna (don’t do this show).’ I didn’t have the courage to pick up their phone and ask them for the money they owed me, and maybe it was because I never had a strong male figure to support me. They used to stick me with mementos and not pay me.”

The comedian shared that she has become much more confident now, especially since she has a family to protect and a child to raise. “Men often take videos of you during awkward moments, and now I call them out on it. I ask for their phone, and when they make excuses, I tell them, ‘I have a bodyguard with me; would you like him to show that video to your sister?’ People come up to me and pinch my cheeks because they think I am in comedy, and I belong to them. Now I have a bodyguard with me all the time, and it’s very important because fans come straight to my home. Your home is your personal space, and since having my kid, I am even more afraid of something bad happening. I send fans straight to my office.”

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