Weeks after a few of Kapil Sharma's teammates left him to join hands with his arch-rival Krushna Abhishek for a new show, there was a defection from the Krushna camp as well. As BT reported, Krushna's co-star Bharti Singh joined The Kapil Sharma Show.

The news has surprised many, and quite expectedly, Krushna the most. He says, “It has been four years since Kapil's show started, and Bharti and I had vowed never to appear on it. It was an unwritten pact between us. Firstly, because it was named after him and secondly because I am not a small-time comedian, who would appear on someone's show for a few minutes. They couldn't have afforded me as I charge a bomb (smiles).“

Krushna says that initially, he refused to believe the rumour. “I laughed it off, as I was confident that she wouldn't join his team. However, I later realised that it was true. How could Bharti join him?“ he asks.

The issue started when, after breaking away from Kapil, his show's former producers Preeti and Neeti Simoes came up with a new comedy series, titled The Drama Company. Apart from roping in Krushna, they also brought Kapil's former coactor Ali Asgar on board.

Ask Krushna if Bharti joining Kapil is like Ali teaming up with him, and he says, “In my defence, I am one of the prominent faces on The Drama Company and that's the reason I have taken it up. I feel as if a family member has gone away from me. I don't grudge Kapil, but this was a pact between Bharti and me.“

So, has the development created any rift between the two friends? “Not at all. I am in touch with her. In fact, I was the first one to rush to her side when she was hospitalised recently. When I asked her about her decision, she said, 'Krushna, mujhe kaam karna hai'. On a positive note, there is a balance now between the two shows. Personally, I don't want Kapil's show to end. I want both to work so that there'll be healthy competition.“

While they have always been pitted against each other, Krushna doesn't harbour the desire to have a show titled after him. “Honestly, I never wanted to be a stand-up comedian. I am essentially an actor, who does comedy and dance; it clicked and ever since, I have been doing it. I don't crave for a show titled Comedy Nights With Krushna. Everyone knows Bigg Boss is Salman Khan's show; his name needn't be on the title for that,“ he signs off.