Comedian and actor Rajiv Thakur often has to face taunts about being less successful than his old friend, Kapil Sharma. They two started out in the Amritsar comedy scene together, before moving to Mumbai and making it big. But while Kapil went on to become one of the biggest television personalities in the country, Rajiv played second, and sometimes third fiddle on his shows. In a new interview, he said that only talent can take an artiste ahead in life, and that he wouldn't be able to ride on Kapil's coattails if he didn't have the talent to support it. He cited the example of Yash Chopra's son, Uday Chopra, to explain the point he was making. Chatting with Hindi Rush, he said, "I have always charted my own path in life, even back in Amritsar. I would write and perform my own plays. When the auditions for Laughter Challenge opened up, I was the one who filled in Chandan (Prabhakar's) application. He didn't want to do it, but I insisted that all us friends would do it together. Even today, if I get the chance to put the spotlight on one of my friends, I take it. But only those whose talent I believe in." Also read - Kapil Sharma, Rajiv Thakur didn’t know about home loans when they wanted to buy their first home in Mumbai: ‘We were so poor, we didn’t know’ He said that even if he's performing a stand-up set, he will give the opening slot to someone who deserves it, not an undeserving friend. Explaining why he hasn't appeared in every iteration of Kapil's show, he said, "Kapil can take me along once or twice, but if the channel doesn't want me, then that's that. It took me eight years just to become a permanent member of his cast. Nobody on this planet can do something for an untalented person. Look at Uday Chopra, for example. What did Yash Chopra not have? He had money, the resources, the studio, the directors. But Uday bhai's career as an actor wasn't meant to happen. It's not that he didn't have the talent, but he had a talent for something else." Rajiv said that one shouldn't be stubborn in a field that they aren't cut out for. "What if Aditya Chopra insisted on becoming an actor? He would've flopped too. He was meant to be a producer and director. It's not like there is just one Kapil Sharma's show in the world. I'm doing my own thing as well; I'm busy with my career. If I keep putting all my eggs in the Kapil basket, there would be no bigger fool. I have so many other ways to use my talent," he said. Rajiv said that even though he and Kapil might not work together, they still hang out several times a week, and that Kapil has no bigger cheerleader than him. "When IC 814 came out, the first call I received was from Kapil," he said, adding that Kapil postponed the dates of his US live tour to accommodate Rajiv's opportunity to work on Anubhav Sinha's Netflix series. After appearing in a handful of films as an actor, Uday turned his attention to production. His brother Aditya explained in the Netflix documentary The Romantics, "People often overlook that not everyone from a privileged background becomes successful. Take my own family, for example. My brother, Uday, is an actor, but he hasn’t had a very successful career. He’s the son of one of the biggest filmmakers and the brother of another. Even with YRF, a company known for launching numerous newcomers, we couldn’t turn him into a star. Why? Because the ultimate decision lies with the audience—they choose whom they like and whom they want to see. No one else can make that decision for them.”
