Kapil Sharma’s show soars to Netflix’s top spot in India

Indian comedy sensation Kapil Sharma, who starred in Nandita Das’ 2022 Busan selection ‘Zwigato’, has successfully ported his long-running TV show to Netflix, with ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ now reaching a global audience.

“The Kapil Sharma Show” aired on Sony Entertainment Television India from 2016 to 2023. The decision to bring his show to Netflix came organically. “Netflix asked: why don’t we bring your show, which people have enjoyed on TV for so many years, to Netflix,” Sharma explains. “I really liked this idea and thought: why not? A global service like Netflix would be great to reach more people and also gain international exposure.” The transition has enabled a new approach to production. “We are fortunate to have created a show where each episode is so different and unique and the seasonal approach on Netflix gives us all a breather, which is a welcome change,” says Sharma.

While the primary focus of the show remains the Hindi-speaking audience, the global feedback has been remarkable. “Of course it’s different if someone watches the show with subtitles. That said, global feedback has been excellent. When our show was launched, it was popular not only in India but also in several other countries like Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Season 1 became the first Indian series to rank in the Global Top 10 TV (non-English) list for four consecutive weeks,” says Sharma. The success continues with Season 2, which has claimed the No. 1 spot on the Indian Top 10 TV chart since its launch two weeks ago and has entered the Top 10 in 11 countries.

Sharma, who won Star TV’s stand-up comedy reality show ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ season 3 in 2007 and hosted Colors TV’s ‘Comedy Nights With Kapil’, acknowledges the difficulty of writing comedy, especially for a long-running show . “Comedy is definitely a challenge to write because you have to come up with a new topic and a new joke every time,” he says. “It’s especially hard when we interact with the celebrities on our show, who we’ve done many episodes with.” He credits his team for the consistent quality of the show. “I feel very lucky and grateful to God that I have such a fantastic team. My directors, my acting team and everyone else are all industry veterans with whom I have built long-lasting friendships.

The new season introduces technological improvements to create an immersive viewing experience. Visual effects and holograms have been incorporated, and there are plans to experiment with interactive formats in upcoming episodes. The show also expands its character roster, introducing more pop culture-relevant figures in addition to familiar faces. To connect directly with fans, Sharma and his castmates are embarking on multi-city tours, including a recent visit to the Attari Wagah border to meet with border security forces and their families. The guest list for season 2 includes Saif Ali Khan, NTR Jr, Janhavi Kapoor, the T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team and also the cast of “Fabulous Wives vs Bollywood Lives.” The season started with Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Vasan Bala and Vedang Raina for their upcoming film ‘Jigra’.

While comedy remains his forte, Sharma has ventured into dramatic roles, most notably in ‘Zwigato’. “Of course I would like to play more leading roles in films. However, after the release of ‘Zwigato’, people only seem interested in offering more serious scripts. Although I want to show the world my serious side, I don’t want to focus on it too much,” he chuckles. “I honestly enjoy making comedy films more, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t consider a serious role. If a great script comes my way, I would definitely love to work on it.”

As ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ continues to gain popularity worldwide, Sharma remains open to new opportunities, including the possibility of more stand-up specials following the success of ‘I am Not Done Yet’ on Netflix.