Shailesh Lodha, who faced criticism for appearing on The Kapil Sharma Show after an old clip went viral on the internet where he was seen criticising the same. Now, in a recent interview, the actor has provided clarification about his previous comment.
Internet Trolling and Criticisms
Shailesh Lodha, famous for his portrayal of Tarak Mehta in the renowned show “Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma”, apart from being a talented actor is also a renowned poet. He appeared on the Kapil Sharma Show last year after previously criticising its content in 2013. After his appearance, he faced trolling online for not standing by his words as his actions state otherwise.
He had previously criticised the show and its content for showcasing unethical characters which are against Indian culture. Now, in a recent interview, the actor addressed his comment and the criticism he faced, providing much-needed clarification.
image source: RVCJ Media
Shailesh Lodha on his appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show
Shailesh Lodha, addressing his appearance on the show, shared that Kapil and him have worked together and in 2012 they had done shows in Singapore together, Comedy Nights with Shailesh and Kapil during that time. Clarifying his earlier statement he said that portrayal of characters like Bua, Daadi, etc., and them flirting with guests is not appropriate according to Indian culture and he still stands by it. Maintaining his previous stance on the show he stated that he would continue to disagree with such kind of comedy. But at the same time, it didn’t mean that he would never go on the show and be apologetic about it.
He went to The Kapil Sharma Show and showcased the strength of Hindi poetry by reciting his poem “Maa” which brought tears in every person’s eyes who were present there on the show. He went there with good intentions with the strength of poetry. He respects Kapil Sharma as an artist and considers him a great friend.
Further, when he was asked about some common things that are seen in showbiz today which are considered funny and have become the general norm and are considered comedy, certain gags like men cross-dressing and inciting laughter out of often sexist portrayal of women which entertains the audience or hitting on every woman appearing on the show, he opined that one thing which sadly needs to be accepted in this country is that we have become mediocre. If one is trying to be intelligent nobody would like to see or hear that and nobody would respect that. The country is enjoying slapstick comedy on reels and dancing on absurd songs. 90 percent of the country’s crowd is enjoying that.
He made a statement which took the anchor and others present in the studio by surprise. He shockingly revealed that Sarabhai vs Sarabhai which is now considered as a cult classic, could not generate good numbers on the TRP charts and wasn’t considered a hit show. “Sarabhai vs Sarabhai” was written so brilliantly but today, no one would believe it that it was not a hit show. According to the TRP numbers it was not a hit show due to which they could only make 70-72 episodes. But the moment creators start churning out mediocre content, it will be accepted with open arms.
According to him, the problem is not limited to just comedy but films and language as well. Libraries and newspapers are shutting down. People are not used to reading good stuff but are more than willing to watch reels. He concluded saying that people have become so superficial that all the superficial things will continue to work.