After serving up a laughter-filled episode with top women athletes last week, The Great Indian Kapil Show returned on Netflix with India’s beloved rapper squad — Badshah, DIVINE and Karan Aujla. The episode left us wondering if we’d stumbled into a concert by accident. It felt more like a mini-launch party for their new album Ek Tha Raja than a Kapil Sharma comedy show.
However, Kapil did manage to dazzle when he unexpectedly joined in on a rap session, revealing some hidden skills.
The show kicked off with an under-seasoned and overlong sketch where Kapil played Pinky, a customs officer with a glad eye. The result was more flat soda than sparkling comedy, setting a meh tone for the episode.
When the spotlight swung over to DIVINE, Badshah, and Karan Aujla, the episode took a bit of a comedic detour. Kapil’s chats with these rap titans were more like wading in the kiddie pool than diving into the deep end of their musical tide. Fans hungry for juicy tidbits about their lyrical prowess got served a platter of light-hearted banter instead.
The chat segment did toss up some feel-good moments, with DIVINE crediting his stint on Gully Boy to his collabs with American rap legend Nas, who sprinkled his stardust on several tracks in the Zoya Akhtar film.
Kapil, ever the mischief-maker, revealed the real names of the rap artistes. Amidst the chuckles, the trio spilled the beans on how their stage names were born. Kapil also cranked up the fun quotient with a talent show where fans got to rap in front of their role models.
One of the episode’s comedy sketches featured Krushna Abhishek and Kiku Sharda as Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Despite the lukewarm, repetitive humour, they did manage to score points with a sharp message about politicians exploiting the common man.
And then Sunil Grover stepped into the giant shoes of the clueless The Great Khali aka Kya Khali, who dreams of becoming a singer. Predictable jokes about Khali’s towering physique, likening him to landmarks like the Burj Khalifa and Qutub Minar, overshadowed Grover’s sketch which did leave the rappers ROFL. The act ended with a tepid rap about lassi.
Our high point of the episode? When Kapil and Badshah recounted how during the pandemic, they were in a zoom session with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar where Badshah performed a rap song. After hearing him out, the spiritual guru said: “Ab gaa ke sunaiye (now please sing it)!”
