Applause Entertainment’s Zwigato was released three years ago on March 17. In this neglected gem directed by Nandita Das, Kapil Sharma gave a moving performance as a delivery boy struggling to make ends meet during the COVID pandemic.
Kapil remembers the first question which came to his head when Nandita offered him the role was, why did she think of him. “Nandita Ma’am had never even seen my show. She had had only seen a clip of a video where Karan Johar and I were hosting the Filmfare awards on the social media. She thought I was very natural in the clip. As for playing a delivery boy, if I had been asked to play a doctor or a scientist, it would have been a lot more difficult. Playing a delivery boy came very naturally to me. I know this character. I’ve lived life on the fringes, not as a delivery boy. Lekin maine bhi chote chote kaam kiye hain. Before I came to television, I did small jobs. Even the environment in the delivery boy’s house is familiar to me. A large joint family, all sleeping in one room. Yeh duniya dekhi hui hai maine.
Kapil admits the lifestyle he leads now is a far cry from the one he lived in Zwigato. “For my fans on television, it may seem odd that I should be playing such a character. But I know this world. It existed before I began my career on television. I know this character. I’ve met him. It wasn’t so difficult playing him. Nandita M’aam paid me a huge compliment when she said I had the face of an aam aadmi. I didn’t have to prepare… except that there was a small problem with the language. This character is a migrant from Jharkhand. I asked Nandita M’aam to help me with the accent through voice notes. My observation powers are very good. If I sit with someone for even a few minutes, I catch the accent and mannerisms. So if you ask me, I could tell you that I did no preparation. Or I could tell you that I’ve been preparing for this all my life.”
Kapil says being directed by a woman in Zwigato was not tough at all. “Women have played an important part in my life all my life. Whether it is my mother, my wife, or now my daughter. They have all ruled my life, and I am most happy to be ruled by them. As for Nandita Ma’am, I wouldn’t like to think of her as a female director. There is no difference between the male directors and Nandita M’aam.”
