Sunil Grover was hospitalised for depression, had no work before Kapil Sharma’s show, says Upasana Singh: ‘They wanted to fire him’

Sunil Grover started his career in the entertainment industry in the late 1990s but he actually stepped into the limelight when he started appearing with Kapil Sharma in Comedy Nights with Kapil in 2013. Sunil’s characters on the show made him a household name and more than a decade later, Sunil continues to be one of the most appreciated comic actors on television. However, when Sunil was on the brink of getting the biggest opportunity of his life, the actor was going through a dark phase. In a recent interview, actor Upasana Singh shared that Sunil had gotten hospitalised because of depression shortly before he started working on Kapil’s show.

In a chat with Lallantop Cinema, Upasana, who played the role of ‘Bua’ on the show, shared that the creative executives involved on the show actually wanted to fire Sunil in the early days as they felt that he wasn’t able to match up to the rest of the case. “When he initially came in, he spoke at a slower pace. So the creative team on that show, they wanted to fire him because they thought he can’t do it, and he can’t match up (to the rest of the cast). I told them then, and Sunil and all the others know about it, that he is a very good actor, you should keep him on,” she shared.

Before this show, Sunil’s most popular gig had him doing radio spots, where he played comic characters and his show, ‘Hansi Ke Phavarre’, was quite popular in metro cities. Upasana shared that it was because of this experience on radio, that Sunil knew what was expected of him on Kapil’s show.

Story continues below this ad

ALSO READ | Dharmendra Health Update Today: Veteran actor discharged from hospital, family statement says ‘actor to continue recovery at home’

She also shared that Sunil was going through some mental health struggles before he started working on Comedy Nights. “When Kapil’s show started, he was not well. I asked him what happened and he shared that he was hospitalised because of depression. He didn’t have much work either. When he came over to my house with Kapil, I didn’t even recognise him because he wasn’t doing much then. But he did so well, and we are such good friends now,” she shared.

Sunil continues to be a cast member on Kapil’s show on Netflix. The show ended its third season recently and is currently on hiatus. Apart from this, Sunil was also recently seen on Dabba Cartel.