Sunil Grover: Returning to Comedy Nights with Kapil Like Coming Home

Highlights

• Comedian Sunil Grover says that joining Comedy Nights With Kapil once again was like coming home and collaborating with its host Kapil Sharma was like reuniting with an old friend.
• The stand-up comedian, who quit the show last year and made a fresh entry as Bittoo Sharma's father-in-law recently, talks at length about his comeback.
• Excerpts from the interview:
• Ques: You are back on Comedy Nights With Kapil?
• Sunil: Yes, we recorded my re-entry, if we can call it that, on Wednesday night. I had eaten the auspicious dahi-chini (curd and sugar) before leaving for the shooting. It was like coming home. But of course, I was nervous.
• Ques: How did the audience react?
• Sunil: The audience broke into spontaneous applause. I felt very, very welcomed.
• Ques: How did Kapil welcome you?
• Sunil: We have been in touch all through the period when I was away from Comedy Nights With Kapil. He welcomed me very warmly. Rather, I welcomed him, since I reached the set before he did. He came 15 minutes after me. When I saw him, I said, Welcome to Comedy Nights With Kapil." We sat together laughing, sharing jokes, chatting in-between shots.
• Ques: This sounds like being too good to be true?
• Sunil: In fact, it felt as though I had never left the show. The period in-between simply evaporated. I met Kapil like two friends who pick up the threads of their relationship after some time. He was very warm (gets emotional). Kapil is a sensible, decent man. We share a terrific chemistry. The minute we see each other, we smile.
• Ques: Why do you feel your re-entry may not be called a re-entry?
• Sunil: Because I never felt I had gone away. The Comedy Nights with Kapil team has been and always will be a part of me. I may have gone away for a while but I was never far away.
• Ques: What would your re-entry be like?
• Sunil: I'm playing Kapil's father-in-law, to begin with. We'll see how the audience reacts to that character and then take it up from there. If you're hinting at a formal re-introduction, I don't think that's needed. How they bring me back into the show is the channel - Colors' call.
• Ques: How do you feel about the show Mad In India?
• Sunil: When I did that show, I didn't do it with the intention to be one-up on Comedy Nights With Kapil. I got the offer after I left Comedy Nights With Kapil. I keep saying, Comedy Nights with Kapil was not and is not a 'Gutthi Show' or a 'Sunil Grover Show'. I am a part of an ensemble cast. The show existed before me. It will go on after me.
• Ques: Why do you think Mad In India failed?
• Sunil: There are many reasons for a show to fail. I worked hard on the show. But no point brooding over it. It's time to move on.
• Ques: How much time will you devote to Comedy Nights with Kapil?
• Sunil: I am now fully into the show. It will take up a lot of my time. And if Gutthi comes back, it will be even more time-consuming. She is a very demanding girl.