Kapil Sharma with his daughter Anayra Sharma Picture courtesy: Prathamesh Bandekar

It is way past Anayra’s bedtime, however, the four-year-old is brimming with joy to pose for the BT lens with her father, actor-comedian Kapil Sharma. As we enter Kapil’s penthouse in Mumbai, Anayra, like a little tornado, welcomes us.

“She loves to get clicked. She is usually asleep by this time, but today she is excited about the shoot,” says Kapil, who has just returned home from the shoot of his comedy show, The Great Indian Kapil Show.

On Daughter’s Day, Kapil talks about the beautiful bond between a father and a daughter. Excerpts:

Anayra was three months old when the pandemic struck. The following months gave Kapil an opportunity to spend time with his firstborn. He gladly traded his mic for diaper duties. “Right from getting her to burp to putting her to sleep at 5 am, I have done everything. When I see her now, I often feel she is growing up too fast,” Kapil says.

Talking about their equation, he shares, “I had always heard ki ek baap aur beti ka pyaar alag hi hota hai. Once you become a father to a daughter, you realize that the love between the two is unparalleled; it is a natural connection. She is the most precious thing to me. She is my biggest blessing. Woh ghar ki raunak hai. Hamare ghar mein betiyon ko hamesha zyaada pyaar mila hai. Now I know why.”

Kapil admits that his social circle has shrunk, and he now prefers spending quality time at home, all because of his children, Anayra and Trishaan. As he reflects on the transformative power of fatherhood, he shares, “There are so many positive changes in my life, which have happened organically. My circle of friends has changed. I feel like spending more time at home. Talking to Anayra is like meditation. I have also become far more disciplined.”

This newfound sense of discipline has even turned Kapil into an early riser, a feat neither his parents nor wife Ginni could achieve. “Mujhe meri neend badi pyaari hai, but I wake up to bid her goodbye when she leaves for school. I also plan my schedule in such a way that I get time to spend with my kids,” he adds.

Interestingly, the comedian who has been making everyone laugh at his jokes since decades, found it difficult to make his daughter laugh at home. “When she was a child, it was only Ginni who would make her laugh. And I would wonder, main puri duniya ko hasa raha hoon aur meri khud ki beti is not laughing at me. But she is the one who makes me laugh the most. She is very funny,” he mentions.

Kapil’s sleeping schedule isn’t the only thing his daughter has improved. “What the universities and colleges couldn’t do, Anayra has managed to do! She has helped me improve my English,” he quips. “When Ed Sheeran was coming on my show, I knew a couple of his songs, but it was Anayra who was excited to meet him. I remember she was sweetly singing his song Shape Of You,” he reveals.

At 43, Kapil says his children inspire him to do better work. “I am more motivated to do good work so that they understand that papa was not just doing frivolous things,” he says. Ask him if Anayra is aware of his popularity, and he replies, “She knows who I am because her teachers often ask her if she is Kapil Sharma’s daughter. She thinks I am a hero. She once asked, ‘Papa, why do you work?’ to which I replied, ‘To earn money and buy you frocks.’ One day, when I packed up early, Anayra asked, ‘Aaj paise kamayee aapne?’,” he laughs.