Kapil Sharma and team returned to our screens this Saturday with a fresh episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, featuring the Deol duo, Sunny and Bobby. But the only thing 'fresh' about this episode of the Netflix comedy series was the sibling bond of the Deols on display.

The episode kicked off with Kapil and the Deols bantering behind the scenes, with Kapil quipping, “You guys handle the editing, I have no clue what we've done.” It's like they're already predicting the way ahead. The Deols, while solid in their own right, didn't really set the stage on fire, leaving the writing team to pick up the slack. Unfortunately, they dropped the ball, and the result was a lacklustre 38 minutes of television.

The crew dived headfirst into a costume party, attempting to channel the Deol magic. Krushna Abhishek and Sunil Grover took on Dharmendra's legendary roles, but the laughs fell flatter than a pancake. Kiku Sharda tried to spice things up as Sunny Deol, and Rajiv Thakur took on Bobby Deol's persona, but it felt like they were serving reheated leftovers. Only Sunil Grover got it spot-on with a Rajpal Yadav impression.

The Deol brothers did their best to inject some life into the show with tales from their childhood and banter that only siblings can pull off. Sunny and Bobby even got teary while big bro was narrating some of the family’s trials and tribulations.

The tide, of course, turned in 2023. Sunny's film, Gadar 2, was a massive hit, while Bobby’s mute villain act in Animal became a rage. Plus, Dharmendra's romantic turn in Rocky Aur Rocky Kii Prem Kahaani became quite a talking point!

“I can see the joy in my father's eyes today... I remember meeting him after a week (of Animal’s release) and dad was excited, ‘Bob, people are going crazy for you!’” recalled Bobby.

“This time, with the overwhelming love from the audience... it was surreal. It felt like a sudden divine intervention," Sunny added.

Additionally, there were a few moments that made you chuckle, like a game of dumb charades between the brothers – from Naukar Biwi Ka to Toilet Ek Prem Katha – to Sunil Grover and Bobby dancing glass on head to Jamal Kudu, Bobby’s viral entry song from Animal. And the line of the episode came from Sunny when he shared a father-son conundrum of Dharmendra urging Sunny to sit and chat with him like a friend, but “when I say something as a friend to him, he turns into a father!”

Sure, the Deols delivered some heartwarming moments, and a few laughs here and there. However, unlike the previous episode with Aamir Khan, where the Lagaan actor channelised his charm to turn the comedy show into a Ted Talk, Kapil couldn't rely solely on the broad Deol shoulders to carry the show this time.

Seriously, how many punches can one show take before it starts feeling like a tired boxer in the 12th round?