‘Kapil Sharma sat next to me for 10 minutes, ignored me throughout’: Mukesh Khanna slams comedian for having ‘no courtesy’, calls his show ‘obscene’

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Khanna’s concerns were only reinforced when he saw a promo for the show featuring Ramayan actor Arun Govil, who was asked a crass question. He shared, “My explanation was that I had seen a promo, not even the whole episode, where Arun Govil was there, and Kapil Sharma is asking them a question, a funny one, isko pakad ke maine bohot sunaya. The question was, ‘Arun ji, you are taking a bath, and the crowd screamed, dekho dekho dekho, Ram bhi VIP underwear pehenta hai (look, even Lord Ram is wearing VIP brand underwear). Arun Govil just smiled and sat there. If I were there, main chadh jaata (I would lose it). You are asking this question to a person who has such a large image. Usko aisa ghatiya sawaal puchte ho (you ask him such a shoddy question)?”

Khanna was appalled by the joke, and felt that it was unacceptable to ask such a question to someone of Govil’s stature. Khanna also expressed his discomfort with the show’s humour, which he feels often relies on double entendres and below-the-belt jokes. “I see obscenity in that show. I see double-meaning dialogues, below-the-belt jokes. Though people laugh, I don’t see any decency in it,” he said.

Khanna also shared an anecdote about how he was once ignored by Kapil Sharma at an award function. “In my first interaction with Kapil, he was sitting next to me at an award function. I had bagged an award for best supporting actor. He also appeared there, maybe he was shooting somewhere there in the Film City. Now, in our industry, even if we have not worked with each other, we ask each other, ‘Kaise hai aap sir (how are you, sir) ?.’ It’s a gesture. I have never worked with Amitabh Bachchan, I have met him four times, I have patted on his shoulder and asked him how he is doing, and he said, ‘Acchha hoon main (I am alright).’ He is a big man. Forget my seniority, he (Kapil) kept sitting next to me for ten minutes but he didn’t even say ‘hello!’. It’s not that I want him to say hello but I say you have no courtesy.”

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Khanna also took a dig at Kapil Sharma’s comedy style, and expressed his satisfaction at not appearing on the show, citing a statement made by fellow Mahabharat cast member Gajendra Singh Chauhan, who appeared on the show without him. “Bhishma Pitamah ke bina Mahabharat kahaan hoti hai? (Mahabharat is incomplete without Bhishma Pitamah). Arjun, Krishna, Duryodhana went, everybody went. Yudhistira also went and somewhere he gave a statement that, ‘Mukesh ji ko toh bulaya hi nahi tha (Mukesh ji was not invited), they needed people who have a sense of humour,’ I said, ‘Oye, when these cricketers come, are they asked if they have a sense of humour? They are treated as VIPs, as if they have done someone a favour by appearing on his show.”

He also took a jibe at Kapil Sharma’s cross-dressing antics on his show, saying, “When Kapil Sharma showed up dressed up as a woman… I still make fun of him because I can’t do it.”