What makes Kapil Sharma India’s funniest man?

The show that has been tickling everyone’s funny bone since June is loosely-based on the popular British show,The Kumar’s at No.42. Bitto,played by Sharma,and his quirky family — comprising a nagging wife (Sumona Chakravarti),a flirtatious dadi (Ali Asgar),an unmarried gambler bua (Upasana Singh) and Sunil Grover and Naseem Vicky as recurring cast — host various Bollywood biggies,in front of a live interactive audience,apart from poking fun at each other. It started with yesteryear star Dharmendra and since then Shah Rukh Khan,Deepika Padukone,Ajay Devgn,Priyanka Chopra,Vidya Balan,Irrfan and Shahid Kapoor have been stumped by his near perfect one-liners.

“Shah Rukh Khan appeared on the show twice. Farah Khan messaged me mujhe kab bulaoge show pe? And Lataji (Mangeshkar) tweeted about my singing. I am so humbled,” he says. 

Since Sharma won the third season of Star One’s The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (TGILC) in 2007,he has only been associated with comedy and the fact that he has a serious side to him almost sounds like a joke. “As a child,I wanted to be a singer. When I was in college,I was introduced to theatre and for years I only did serious roles. I didn’t even know what comedy was,” says Sharma.

It’s not just on-screen that Sharma takes over the responsibility of making people laugh. A few minutes with him reveal that everything he says on TV is not scripted. He thinks on his feet and sometimes doesn’t even realise the gravity of his words till they’ve left his mouth. As he gets talking about the time spent in Hindu College,Amristar,he says,“Only two celebrities have come out of that college — our dear Prime Minister and I. One,who talks a lot and the other who doesn’t say a word.”  

Sharma was so impacted by stand-up comic Gurpreet Ghuggi that he auditioned for Punjabi show Haste Hasaate Raho,a regional take on TGILC in 2005. After being rejected from the regional rounds of TGILC,he auditioned from Delhi and developed memorable characters such as Inspector Sher Singh on the show. “Kapil’s humour has a Punjabi,plebian nature and his ability to get into characters is what sets him apart. While I personally do not subscribe to this kind of humour,I fought for his case on TGILC. He has the making of a great stand-up comic,” says actor Shekhar Suman,who was one of the judge’s of TGILC.

Probe Sharma about the background of the characters he brings in his performances,and he says,“I have interacted with all kinds of people — lower middle class,middle-class,the super rich,the elite and the common man on the street — and seen all kinds of traits in people. Some are attention-seeking,while others boast. I observe their mannerisms to form my own fictional characters,” he says. To explain it better,he quickly adds,“Ambani ka beta kabhi acha comedian nahi ban sakta kyunki usne woh sab nahi dekha jo maine dekha hai.”

Sharma’s eye for detail is his strength. So,Sher Singh as the arrogant inspector who looks down upon everybody has probably been derived from the police officials he met while growing up,since his father was in the police force in Amristar. “Through comedy he explores the fault lines that exist in society and captures the difference between the classes. Sheher ke comedians iPad ko lekar jokes banate hai,but Kapil reaches the masses,” says stand-up comic Sanjay Rajoura. English stand-up comic Neeti Palta says,“He’s extremely honest and upfront – two characteristics that are so important for a comedian.” To this Rajoura adds,“He speaks the language of the nation,doesn’t use any sex-related jokes like his English stand-up contemporaries and is still popular.”

It was during a meeting with Colors channel to discuss dance-reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa which he hosts on weekends that Sharma spoke about the concept of a show which had been taking shape in his head. “I realised that I wanted to be part of a show that would bring together my love for short skits,my ability to talk back to the audience and fun-filled interviews with these Bollywood guests,” says Sharma. His only condition was that he wanted to produce the show.

Once he got the nod from the channel,Sharma picked up his cast and began work towards what is being touted as the next milestone for Indian comedy on television. Asgar’s character of a hyperactive,dancing and libidinous dadi and her interactions with her grandson Bitto is gaining popularity too. “In Bollywood,the role of a grandmother is limited to that of a woman waiting for her family to fulfill her last wish. Kapil wanted to change that and I just couldn’t say no to him. With due respect to all shows,Comedy Nights with Kapil is the change that was needed. All formats reach a saturation level and this show is a breath of fresh air,” says Asgar,who compares Sharma’s humour to that of legends such as IS Johar and Omar Sharif. “Poker-straight face and cynical remarks — what does it remind you of?” asks Asgar.

Suman,who tasted success with comedy years ago on Movers & Shakers,believes that gaining popularity,is not tough but sustaining oneself in the industry and still keeping the art alive is. Can Sharma sustain his wit and position on TV? “This show can go on for five years,because I keep trying to bring newness. Each celebrity has a different personality,so you can’t get bored,” says Sharma.

It is this reliance on Bollywood names that Rajoura believes Sharma should be cautious about. “Bollywood ruins everything. If he keeps Bollywood away,he won’t survive and if he keeps Bollywood too close,his humour won’t survive,” he says.

Most of his contemporaries — from the rural-influenced humour of Raju Srivastava to self-deprecating jokes by Bharti Singh to Naveen Prabhakar of “Pehchaan kaun?” fame — have seen similar success. But most of them peaked,with scattered performances on TV now. According to Navjot Singh Sidhu,who has seen Sharma’s growth since 2007,the reason Sharma will stick around is because he is not over-exposed. “People want to see more of him but he sticks to the one show-one channel policy,unlike say Raju Srivastava,who was popular but was all over TV. Kapil leaves people hungry,” he says.

Apart from two back-to-back shows on the weekend,Sharma is busy making up his mind about future projects. He refuses to divulge any details,but mentions how he will release a Sufi-Punjabi music album in 2014. “Universal,the music label,is interested but I have no time to record or riyaaz,” he says. Till then,it’s weekends with Kapil,it seems.