With just over a month to go for the Summer Olympics in Paris, The Great Indian Kapil Show decided to sprinkle some star-studded sports magic. Enter, the she-power trio of tennis ace Sania Mirza, boxing champ Mary Kom, and badminton wizard Saina Nehwal. Sharp shooter Sift Kaur joined them later in the episode. These icons of Indian sports led the ever-witty Kapil Sharma, the ever-laughing judge Archana Puran Singh, and the merry band of The Great Indian Kapil Show for a delightful episode on Netflix.
Imagine a room where laughter is the currency, and our sporting legends were making it rain! As they chuckled and chortled at Team Kapil's antics, it felt like they were catching up with long-lost pals – over the ‘Saina-Sania’ name muddle and much more. The joy was contagious, the energy electrifying, and the audience roared louder than a stadium. This episode didn’t just bring back memories of the show’s glory days — it catapulted us right into a comedy hall of fame. Hats off to the writers who managed to pepper the episode with punch and punchline.
Mary Kom was a powerhouse of hilarity, sharing anecdotes and threats – of becoming “gussa” – that had Kapil scrambling to keep up. Sania Mirza, the sass queen, matched Kapil serve for volley, with her sharp comebacks leaving him almost begging for mercy. At one point, he quipped, “If I don’t make these lame jokes, should we all go to the show ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’?”
One memorable sketch had Sania and Kapil as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, with Sania's zingers so sharp even Kapil broke character. A running gag about Mary and Saina's biopics starring the Chopra sisters — Priyanka as Mary and Parineeti as Saina, had the audience in stitches. Sania lamented, “Are there any more (Chopra) sisters left, or do I have to play myself in my biopic? Especially if Shah Rukh Khan or Akshay Kumar end up being my love interest – of course after I find one (a love interest) !”
Kapil and his team performed with a sense of ease and joy rarely seen on their Netflix show, thanks in no small measure to the genuine sparkle of the guests. Krishna Abhishek channelled his inner Jeetendra with a truly “jeetu raho” performance – starting with his badminton capers with Saina and capped by his reference to Sift Kaur as “Maruti S(w)ift”, leaving Saina-Mary-Sania ROC(couch)L. In comparison, Kiku Sharda’s Chef Dhaniya Lal was a bit undercooked, and Sunil Grover’s Engineer Chumbak started strong but lost his way as the joke stretched on.
Next week promises a musical treat with rapper-singer Badshah, Divine, and Karan Aujla hitting the stage on The Great Indian Kapil Show.
