Kiku Sharda, who has collaborated with Kapil Sharma for more than a decade now, opened up about the creative process of the show: how much is scripted and how much they rely on improvisation. Delving into the process, Kiku Sharda said they always look for a genuine reaction from celebrity guests. Meanwhile, Kapil Sharma can handle situations when a joke doesn’t land.
‘70% Script, 30% Spontaneous’
Speaking to Prakhar Gupta, Kiku said they deliberately hide jokes and punchlines from celebrities to elicit a genuine reaction. “Very frankly, we want genuine reactions. We don’t want the guests to know the punchlines, the jokes, or the characters in advance. We want them to experience those characters for the first time on stage, because that’s when we get the most authentic reactions. So now everyone simply goes with the flow.”
Kiku said there’s a script, but they decide how much to follow and how much to improvise during filming.
“Broadly speaking, there is a script and we do follow it, but only up to a point. Sometimes it’s impossible to stick to it because a celebrity takes the conversation in a completely new direction. Sometimes a different thought strikes you in the moment, and you improvise. I’d say it’s roughly a 70–30 split: around 70% follows the script, while 30% is completely spontaneous,” Kiku added.
Recalling a shooting experience with Salman Khan, Kiku Sharda said he’s one of those people whose reaction can’t be predicted on set. “With Salman Khan especially, you never know what’s going to make him laugh. Sometimes you’ve planned a line thinking, ‘This is going to be hilarious,’ and he barely reacts. Then someone says something completely unexpected in the middle, and that’s what gets him. Once he starts laughing, he just can’t stop. Tears start rolling down his eyes and he’s completely gone.”
‘Kapil Sharma Is a Master’
Crediting Kapil Sharma for his expertise and promptness in handling ‘tricky’ situations, Kiku added, “But Kapil Sharma is a master at handling those situations. He has this instinct for knowing when something isn’t working. I’ve always said that sometimes a bit lands beautifully, and sometimes it simply doesn’t. When it doesn’t, you can’t just keep standing there pretending it’s working.”
“Kapil will immediately step in with something completely off-script. He might say, ‘I told you this wouldn’t work,’ or crack a line that naturally gives the actor an exit. He finds a way to move the show forward without making it feel awkward. He handles those situations beautifully. After 13 years of working together, we’ve reached a point where we almost know what’s going on in each other’s heads,” Kiku added.