ali asgar, ali asgar kapil sharma, ali asgar the kapil sharma show,

Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; August 17, 2022)

Fourteen years ago, Ali Asgar participated in the dance reality show, Zara Nachke Dikha. The artiste-comedian is back on TV with another dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (JDJ) 10. He will be seen performing as Daadi – the iconic character from Kapil Sharma’s comedy show – in the initial episodes of the dance reality show. In an interview with BT, the actor talks about his reasons for taking up JDJ, fighting stereotypes and his decision to quit Kapil Sharma’s show. Excerpts…

What made you take up Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa years after your stint on the dance reality show, Zara Nachke Dikha?
I still don’t call myself a dancer and I don’t know whether I can dance. However, I have a sound understanding of tune and rhythm. I believe in entertaining, which isn’t just comedy. I have told my choreographer to design dance performances that suit me. My attempt is that till the time I last on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, do-chaar chauke maar ke nikalne ki koshish karenge taaki logo ko yaad rahe.

In recent years, you have been seen mainly on comedy shows. As an artiste, do you feel typecast in the genre?
Yes, but then even legendary actors have been typecast. However, whenever they have played a serious character, people have resonated and cried with them. I should get the opportunity to showcase my versatility. My image as a comedian is so strong that it has become like a baggage and people don’t consider me for any other role. Woh mujhe auraton ke libaas ke baahar dekh hi nahi paa rahe and they doubt whether I will be able to play something else. Only a handful of producers have shown their belief in me by giving me an opportunity to explore other shades as an artiste. How do we change this mindset? In fact, I stayed away from TV for a long time fearing that people might think I was happy doing just comedy.

We have learnt that you will be performing as Daadi (the character from Kapil Sharma’s standup comedy show) on JDJ initially. Have you missed playing the character?
Yes, of course. However, it tends to get monotonous. It’s not that I had any qualms about playing female characters but I also wanted to play something else.

Not many know why you quit The Kapil Sharma Show...
I wasn’t creatively satisfied, as my character (Naani) wasn’t growing. I had intimated the team about it even before going to Australia (2017). I had a lot to perform as Daadi, which wasn’t the case with Naani’s character. Par uss waqt itna raayta phail gaya tha (unfortunately, the fallout between Kapil and Sunil Grover took place at the same time) ki kuchh log baat ko uss taraf le gaye aur kuchh doosri taraf. Itna kuchh ho gaya tha ki kya safaai dena aur kya bolna.

Why didn’t you reach out to Kapil to clear the air? Did he reach out to you?
We missed each other’s calls back then and there was a communication gap. With time, both of us moved on. But I am happy that I was a part of it and I learned a lot from him. I will always respect him. He understands the pulse of the audience and knows how to hold a show.

In hindsight, do you regret quitting Kapil’s show because somehow you couldn’t recreate the success of Daadi?
I completely agree that I couldn’t recreate the success in projects that followed. Ho sakta hai shows mein woh baat nahi thi ya performance mein kuchh kami hogi. Complaining about it now is a futile exercise. There is always a lot to analyse. However, I don’t have any regrets. I had a reason to quit and it wasn’t an overnight decision. If the intent was to earn money, I would have still continued on the show.