Sachin Acharya had a harrowing time on the sets of the comedy show, when he and his family were forced to remain seated for 9 hours without food, water or even a bathroom break
Comedy Nights with Kapil
The country’s highest-rated comedy show on television, Comedy Nights with Kapil, reduced me and my two children, aged nine and 14, to tears on Wednesday when we had the misfortune of being part of its studio audience.
For almost nine hours — from 2 pm to 10.30 pm on June 18 — we were asked to sit in one place, without water, without food and without any bathroom breaks. We were not even allowed to leave our seats while we waited for the stars to appear, and we waited even more for the show’s recording to start on its sets in Goregaon.
Kapil Sharma and Sachin Acharya (right)
The impeccable comic timing of its host Kapil Sharma and the witty banter of the comic cast aside, the nine-hour nightmare that my family and I endured under inhuman conditions made us feel we were in some kind of detention centre.
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It was not only my family, but several others in the audience who had travelled hundreds of kilometres from various parts of the country to watch this hugely popular show felt the same. All this while the actors and the crew kept drinking water, coffee and even protein shakes on stage.
This left a bitter aftertaste because of the taken-for-granted rules for audience conduct and utter disrespect for the fans by the crowd management team. Women and children were denied a bathroom break for hours. Not just that, Sharma, easily one of India's most-loved comedians, taunted a female fan who stood up to inform him that her husband and her children were not allowed to return to their seats following a loo break which they literally had to fight for. “We have heard of joint families in India, but not loo families,” he told the woman. An uproarious laughter followed, thus humiliating her further.
No sympathy
Instead of showing any sympathy or concern for the children who were left outside without their mother, Sharma laughed at her plight. I was anything but amused at this crass humour. The crowd had entered at 2 pm, and after a four and a half hour wait, the shoot finally began at 6:30 pm. During this time, our phones were taken away from us, we were not allowed to drink water, or given any food.
Navjot Singh Sidhu during one of the show’s episodes
Two senior citizens, who got tired of being shuffled around and later denied a bathroom break for a long time, were heard muttering profanities under their breath. At one point they were overheard discussing the poor lighting and seating arrangements made available for the audience in their row, which was at a precarious distance from the camera equipment. There was little illumination for the audience to move around.
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After many protests from the audience, we were allowed a loo break. But even here, we were allowed to leave only one by one. If your bladder was screaming, well, bad luck. The bathrooms were far from the set and thus the agony only increased.
Once the shoot began, no movement or water breaks were allowed. This was unfair as the cast and crew themselves munched on biscuits during the break. This went on until 10.30 pm, when I decided enough was enough. I told my family we should walk off. After all, how long can children wait without food or water? While I was leaving, one of the crewmembers tried to stop me and when I did not relent, he threatened to “fix me”. But I was in no mood to listen. Which parent would?
Photos: Karisma Kapoor, Armaan Jain on 'Comedy Nights With Kapil'
What pained me the most was that I was hoping for one of the most exciting experiences of my life along with my children; instead I was left hungry, thirsty and dejected. Even the kids of Karisma Kapoor, who had come with two nannies, left the show for more than an hour. When they returned, Kapil asked them, “Bachchon neend aa rahi
hai kya?”
— As told to Sharad Vyas
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