Kapil Sharma, I am not a stalker!!!- Hira Mehta

Laughter is the best medicine-who ever said that. Some might say that laughter is a medicine to hide a hurt, some say it frees me from sadness, some say it is an exercise to keep happy. So let me think this through. I got it.. Laughter is Kapil Sharma and his team for me and my infection has not been cured yet..................... and hey, I don't want a cure. I want to be infected more.. so waiting now for The Kapil Sharma Show.....

but I am not a stalker.....just a genuine fan of the show because that's the only show that brings a smile to my face...I have tried watched other laughter shows (need I name) while Kapil Sharma has been off air, but they are so so dumb and silly ...that I might just die laughing (and by that I being sarcastic).....

I have not missed a single episode of Comedy Nights with Kapil show of course..........but then let me also count how many times have I got truly infected in person. In the audience for episodes starting with Farah Khan, Shekhar Suman/Adhyayen Suman, Shilpa Shetty & Raj Kundra/Harman Baweja, Sonakshi Sinha in the awesome deep orange outfil ( and hey,I asked a question too), Karishma Kapoor & Armaan Malik, Rekha, Ranbir Kapoor/Deepika for Tamasha........ Salman Khan (love the guy) /Nawazuddin Siddique (such a down to earth person)....I recall raising my hand to say I would be happy to call Salmaan Khan "bhaisaheb" to much laughter and ribbing by Kapil Sharma.....and why not cause I am not a giddy headed person who loves a particular star....anyone that entertains becomes my favourite......... and then what can I say about the awesome Shamitabh episode with Amitabh Bachchan/Dhanush/Akshara (Yes,I ran on stage to dance with Mr. Bachchan too). You may ask how I managed to be there so many times. Well, I'm not telling.... but where there is determination there is a way....... My only regret is not being able to be there for the ABCD2 episode to see my absolute favourite dancing stars (by the way ABCD is that one film that I have seen first day first show all alone in a theatre...and by all alone I really mean in all my growing up and present years and  yes I cried tears of joy at every dance performance (damn those 3D glasses) ..... 

Each time has been something more memorable than the other....and what's more surprising is that I never got that photo with Kapil Sharma too (except for the TV grab)....not once in all the times I went there..........So much energy on the sets....Kapil would come out and play drums sometimes...sing his favourite "mere mehboob kayamat hogi" (goosebumps) and talk to audience...and sometimes even give a dose in good jest to audience if they tried his patience .. My friends teased me that I was stalking him each time I landed there....... but no way, because watching Kapil and his team in person was like being a part of the Sharma family and besides there was so much more laughter to experience and so much more footage to see performed live on the sets than that which gets edited into a capsule for TV......  after all there is nothing more breathless than watching a live performance....

Let me share some moments I remember....The first episode that I was to attend was the Sonu Nigam one and there I was all excited and ready to leave when I get a message that its cancelled.....totally disappointed only to realise later that a fire had burnt down the set......but there I was at the first episode with Farah Khan and even got a photo with Dadi and Bua...... And then there was that episode when the pyros shot up in the air as Rekha entered onto the stage and break..some sound issues ...again the stage was cleared up and once again fanfare, entry and not again, I thought, again problem with her mike sound...flurry on sets...much discussion.... and I scream out to the production person "it's the lapel mike sound against the huge gold chocker around her neck"...back again fanfare and this time Rekha enters with a hand mike and the episode gets on way...but damn it took twelve hours to shoot as they recorded two back to back episodes with her....  Farah Khan episode was where I got to ask a question but it was edited out.....but I managed that in the Sonakshi Sinha episode where I got to debate with Kapil on the benefits of marriage....interesting and funny ....  and then how can I forget standing bang next to Ranbir Kapoor in the opening sequence of his episode where I dropped a coin in his hand...(want a grab of that but can't find the episode on youtube ...anyone???)....of course nothing can compare to a dream come true that remains with you for a lifetime....so what if I have seen Mr. Bachchan up front at my bank, shooting for the commercial as brand ambassador or getting a personalised autograph in his autobiographical  book  on my 50th birthday (thanks to my sister who designed his book "To be or Not to Be") .....though nothing can compare to grabbing the opportunity to be on stage to dance with the God himself.. and I did.. and that warm hug after the sequence ....just an icing on the cake ....

So what if it took hours before the actual shoot started hours later.....For me long hours on the set was not just pure fun observation time but most importantly when you are sitting there you realise and appreciate the amount of  hard work that goes behind each episode of just 50 minutes to reach our TV screens....... that itself was a big learning for a filmy keeda like me. 

And now team Kapil embarks on a new journey with The Kapil Sharma Show as I wait with bated breath to find a way to get there on the sets again to watch them perform .....waiting for them to give us the audience doses of laughter...Hats off Kapil Sharma for you are indeed my weekend dose of happiness ....