After airing only 3 episodes, Sony TV has now decided to pull the plug on Kapil Sharma’s new show, Family Time With Kapil Sharma. According to sources, the decision was finally taken by the channel on Monday because of the comedian and actor’s unprofessional attitude.
An abusive phone call recently made by Kapil Sharma threatening an entertainment journalist, which was made public, is also reportedly one of the reasons why the channel has taken the final call to scrap Kapil’s show. The phone call clearly shows that the comedian is in a very troubled state of mind.
Family Time With Kapil Sharma was launched on 25 March after Kapil’s earlier show - The Kapil Sharma Show, was taken off air last year post its launch in April 2016. Kapil Sharma had had a mid-air spat with his team members including Sunil Grover, following which he began to avoid shooting for his shows citing ill health. Kapil also kept several Bollywood stars waiting on the sets of his show after he began to cancel his appearances at the last minute.
After The Kapil Sharma Show was scrapped, Sony TV and Kapil Sharma promised his fans and viewers that the comedian would be back after a break. Kapil’s short hiatus from TV was to supposedly resolve all the issues which he was facing that were affecting his performance. The announcement and launch of Family Time With Kapil Sharma was welcomed and seen as a comeback of the comedian, but the celebration was premature. There were once again reports of Kapil having not turned up for a shoot with Rani Mukerji. Add to this, the reviews of the new show indicated that Kapil Sharma was not yet back in his original form and the game show format that was added to Family Time With Kapil Sharma was not working at all.
Let’s hope Kapil Sharma takes his time to resolve what ever issues he’s facing that’s hampering him personally and professionally, but question is, will the TV industry give the comedian another chance to prove himself? Given the immense popularity and fan following that he has, Kapil will be welcomed back by channels who’ll probably be willing to give the entertainer yet another opportunity to spread his magic and make people laugh and this will probably be the last chance he gets.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)