Comedian and star of The Kapil Sharma Show, Kapil Sharma has finally reacted to the controversy of Navjot Singh Sidhu allegedly being fired from the show over comments on the Pulwama attack. In a video shared by none other than Sidhu himself, Kapil is seen interacting with the media at an event in Chandigarh. This is what he had to say.
“There should be a permanent solution to this problem. If sacking Sidhu Ji was a solution, then Sidhu Ji is smart enough to walk out of the show himself. So, people are being misled with hashtags like ‘#BoycottSidhu’ and ‘#BoycottKapilSharmaShow’. Right now one should focus on the genuine problem and the attention of the youth should not be taken away from the real issue.”Kapil Sharma
"Navjot Singh Sidhu is busy with his prior commitments due to which Archana Puran Singh is shooting with us,” Kapil added while speaking to Zee News.
Needless to say, Twitter has not taken kindly to Kapil’s defence of Sidhu, with hashtags to boycott the show and channel trending even higher.
Politician, commentator and TV personality Sidhu has said he has had “no intimation about his termination from the channel” in response to rumours that he has been dropped by Sony TV from its popular comedy show The Kapil Sharma Show in light of his statement on the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF jawans.
Hindustan Times has quoted Sidhu as saying,
“I had to attend Vidhan Sabha’s session due to which I couldn’t go for the shoots of The Kapil Sharma Show and they got somebody else in my replacement for two episodes. I have no intimation about my termination from the channel. If it is regarding my statement, I will stick to what I have been saying yesterday, today and ever tomorrow.”Navjot Singh Sidhu on being dropped from The Kapil Sharma Show
While Sony TV is yet to give out an official statement, according to sources close the channel, Sidhu has indeed been asked to step down from the show. It is also likely that actor and TV host Archana Puran Singh will replace Sidhu on The Kapil Sharma Show from its next episode.
However, Singh claims to have no knowledge of these developments. She told Hindustan Times that she had shot for two episodes on 9 and 13 February “but that was before the Pulwama terror attack.” She added,
“I don’t have any information about replacing Sidhu. I got to know from the media that this is happening. I’m yet to get any official communication from the channel and creative heads of the show,”Archana Puran Singh on replacing Navjot Singh Sidhu on The Kapil Sharma Show
Reacting to the suicide attack on CRPF jawans in Pulwama, Sidhu in a media interaction had earlier said, “Nations cannot be held responsible for the dastardly acts of terrorists. The terrorists do not have deen, mazhab (sect and religion). There are good, the bad and the ugly. Every institution has them. Every nation has them. The ugly need to be punished. But individuals cannot be blamed for the dastardly act.”
There has been a fierce backlash on Sony TV following Sidhu’s comments on the Pulwama attack. #UnsubscribeSonyTV trended on Twitter with several users posting videos of them having deleted the Sony TV app from their mobiles. The channel fears that their sponsors could leave the show with the amount of negativity being spread around Sidhu’s remarks as he is seen as a part of the show.
Comedian Kapil Sharma had responded to the Pulwama terror attack by tweeting his support to the armed forces and his condolences to the families of the jawans who were killed in the attack. Sharma also stated that everyone across the world needs to join forces to fight terror. An official confirmation on Sidhu’s termination from The Kapil Sharma Show is still awaited from the Sony TV group.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)