If very reliable well-informed sources are to be believed, then Sunil Grover did show “a keen interest” in being part of his friend-turned-rival Kapil Sharma’s new show Family Time With Kapil Sharma.
“But Grover had a pre-condition. He wanted the show’s title to be changed. Nothing radical…or so Grover claimed. He just wanted his name to be added to the title of the show. So instead ofFamily Time With Kapil Sharma, it would’ve been Family Time With Kapil & Sunil,” says the source.
The idea was “politely but firmly” turned down by both the show’s producers and the channel, Sony Entertainment.
“Firstly, because the show was planned as a comeback vehicle for Kapil. It was Kapil who made Comedy Nights With Kapil andThe Kapil Sharma Show a success. Of course all the other comedians/entertainers in his team, including Sunil Grover, added to the show’s entertainment value. But for Grover to think he could share the marquee 50:50 with Kapil was ridiculous to the point of being laughable. All of Sunil’s efforts so far to project himself as a solo entertainer have been disastrous.”
This source also corroborates Kapil Sharma’s claim that he made repeated attempts to get Grover on board after the alleged mid-air fight.
Says a very close friend of Kapil, “The mid-air fight has been completely misrepresented in the press and media. Whatever happened during the flight was sorted out before the plane landed in India. Kapil and Sunil had hugged and wept over the incident. To his shock, Kapil woke up on the day after he landed, to widespread reports of his drunken misbehaviour on the flight. The betrayal of trust shattered Kapil. But still he reached out repeatedly to Grover, called him innumerable times, drove down to Grover’s house on a number of occasions to personally invite him to return to their show. Grover wouldn’t relent. Apparently he wanted to use this highly exaggerated ‘rift’ with Kapil as a basis to set himself up as a solo stand-up performer on a par with Kapil. So this conflict is all about division of power between Kapil Sharma and a colleague who wants equal billing.”
Sunil Grover remained unavailable for comment.
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