The Great Indian Kapil Show 5th episode first impression: Aamir Khan’s untold stories rescue audience from Kapil Sharma’s dull humour

Aamir’s candidness and Kapil’s adept interviewing skills were a match made in heaven for the new episode. The actor came on the show with his two sisters – Nikhat Khan and Farhat Khan – whose banter gave a sense of Aamir’s family dynamic. He also shared anecdotes about family and upbringing, defying his father’s temper to pursue acting, and the irony of his kids showing little interest in him despite his industry stature. There was a sense of novelty in hearing Aamir deal with everyday problems that most of us can relate to.

Aamir Khan’s affection for Kapil Sharma and his team was palpable throughout the show, resulting in various heartwarming moments. While he might have felt shy and looked away to avoid clingy, cheesy jokes, he was never uncomfortable. In one segment, Kapil even admitted, “Humse aisi bachkaand baatein karwate hain itne bade logon se, but hamari janta hi yahi hai (We indulge celebrities in such nonsense talk, but that’s our audience).”

However, the major disappointment from the new episode came from Kapil Sharma and his team of writers. While the episode ran for over an hour, major chunks were dedicated to Aamir’s captivating stories, and rightfully so. But the show’s team failed to deliver sharp humour even in the brief intervals they had to break the monotony of the interview. Most jokes were routine and lacked the spontaneity that audiences expect from Kapil’s shows.

Aamir Khan with Sunil Grover in a still from The Great Indian Kapil Show.

Kiku Sharda’s Chef Dhanyia Lal, Krushna Abhishek’s Mona, and Sunil Grover’s Engineer Chambuk Mittal relied on tired humour, failing to make an impact. Even the sketch comedy segment featuring Sunil, Kiku, and Rajeev Thakur in various Aamir Khan characters, was a lost opportunity.

Amid the falling viewership of The Great Indian Kapil Show, the passive approach towards the show’s writing is concerning. Episodes like this one are rare phenomena as celebrity guests won’t always be willing to bare their souls like Aamir. Case in point, the second episode, which featured cricketers Shreyas Iyer and Rohit Sharma. Therefore, the makers have to ensure their sketch comedy segments are strong enough to lure the audience, irrespective of the celebrities’ ability to attract viewers. Consider the third episode featuring the Chamkila star cast. Despite being the shortest of all episodes, the brilliance of the sketch comedy writing seen in that episode remains unmatched.

The next episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show will feature Bobby Deol and Sunny Deol. While the trailer looks promising, we aren’t judging this book by its fancy cover. You can watch the show on Netflix.