Anyone who has watched the trailer of Kapil Sharma’s upcoming film, Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2, will agree that it brings back memories of David Dhawan’s comedies from the 1990s. Director Anukalp Goswami instantly agrees, adding that his knowledge of filmmaking is rooted in those movies.

“My training ground was Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, and then David Dhawan films. Watching their movies was my schooling. For the last 15–16 years, from Comedy Circus to The Great Indian Kapil Show, I’ve been directing pure comedies,” he says.

Goswami insists that the December 12 release — also starring Manjot Singh, Hira Warina, and Tridha Choudhary — is rooted in that lineage of feel-good, family-friendly humour. But it is his leading man’s comic timing that is central to the story.

“Kapil has worked so much in non-fiction that his comic timing comes naturally. He knows exactly how much the scene requires. He improvises beautifully, but he also knows when to hold back. Akshay Kumar and Govinda are great artistes in comedy, and after them, Kapil is great. When I worked with him, I saw a star in him.”