The man who entertains millions of Indians every week, bringing laughter and joy, is Kapil Sharma. Sharma has been an ever-present personality from the early days of Television stand-up to having his show. He's had a long journey to stardom; it has been truly astonishing with many highs and lows.
Kapil was born in a lower-middle-class household and was a family of 5. They weren't particularly well-off, and he had to do many odd jobs throughout his life. From being a PCO booth operator, working in a cloth mill, and even picking crates of soft drinks to earn money. There are many things he's done to earn some pocket money and help in his education.
In 1997, he got the biggest shock of his life when his father was diagnosed with Cancer. Suddenly Kapil not only had to fund his education but also support a family of 5. Many would get crushed under the burden, but Kapil worked extremely hard to do it all. During the daytime, he was a college-going student and at night was singing in Jagratas to pay for his father's treatment.
He started teaching theater in college, earning money, and working as a representative in youth festivals. Kapil recalls being there for a theater group as his father was also in ICU. For a commoner, even being sad is considered a luxury. Life kept on pushing him to keep working hard and fighting against the odds.
Sharma's father passed away in 2004.
Kapil Sharma is one of the highest-earning celebrities in India. He gets paid upto one crore rupee per episode and earns 50 lakh rupees monthly in stage shows. Kapil has revealed that he pays about 15 crores in taxes to the Indian Government annually. All this money in the world wouldn't have the same significance as the ten lakh prize money he won in 2007.
The story is that Kapil's sister was getting married in the same year, and the family couldn't afford an engagement ring. When he won the prize money, he called her up and said she could now buy that ring. Sharma spent all of it on the wedding and fulfilled the role of dutiful brother.
While you might think that for Kapil being a comedian was his first choice from the get-go, the reality is different. His family, more specifically his father, thought that he should join the Police and be Head constable.
Kapil's interests were more in dramatics, music, and comedy. He juggled all of them for a long time and eventually realized that music was his true passion. He came to Mumbai with the sole intention of becoming a singer. Sharma auditioned for Indian Idol but was rejected from the show. He, however, found more success in being a comedian than a musician.
Kapil, however, continues to be incredibly passionate about Music and sings regularly in reality shows. At home, he often calls up his friends and enjoys having a music session with them.
In the show Star Ya Rockstar, Kapil Sharma was a participant singing ‘Haule Haule’ from ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.’ In the middle of the performance, Kapil forgot the lines of the song, and everyone in the audience started helping him. Later on, when the host asked Judges to rate the performance, they took offense to it, and things got quite heated. Anu Malik was particularly critical of it, calling the whole thing "unforgivable."
Mika Singh took a jibe at Anu Malik with the comment, "Like Anu Ji, he's a big fan of Michael Jackson, and I guess he doesn't understand the lyrics of his songs’.
In the end, Anu Malik ended the discussion by saying that if one forgets the lyrics of a song, then the whole show goes wrong.
Whether Kapil should be harshly criticized or forgiven as a simple mistake is debatable.
Kapil Sharma is probably the biggest rags to riches story in the industry after Shah Rukh Khan. Even though he's gone through great pains and deals with serious medical issues, there's always a smile on his face. All the money and fortune has not changed Kapil; instead, it's only made him more grounded as a person. He's the living example that Laughter is the best medicine.