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EXCLUSIVE: Rochelle Rao on The Kapil Sharma Show, her character, missing Sunil Grover and the new team
Rochelle Rao in an exclusive interview with PINKVILLA speaks about the show, her character Chingari, her expectations from the show and more. Read on.
Comedian-actor Kapil Sharma is back with his team including Rochelle Rao, Chandan Prabhakar, Kiku Sharda, Krushna Abhishek, Bharti Singh in the new edition of The Kapil Sharma Show. The show premiered on December 29, 2018 with Ranveer Singh, Rohit Shetty and Sara Ali Khan as the first guests. Tonight, we will see superstar Salman Khan grace the show with his family members. Amidst much hype and mixed reviews, we caught up with Rochella Rao to speak about the show, the character she plays, mingling with the new team and if they miss Sunil Grover as much as the audience. Over to Rochelle.
People had been waiting for The Kapil Sharma Show for the longest time. When did you guys return?
I think ever since Family Time With Kapil Sharma happened or rather didn't happen, there is always been a conversation on this but Kapil just wanted some time off before he could start up again. One thing is that the channel always believed in him and pushed him. They were the ones who told him that we will wait for you to be ready again and do it. It takes people who believe in the concept and I think we have been very lucky and fortunate that way to have people who believed in us and wanted us to come back with the show.
How did it feel collectively as a team when the first episode premiered?
When we watched it as a team together, everyone was laughing and we always say that if we are laughing and then we are sure that everyone else is also laughing. So, it was awesome. We had our shoot going on and simultaneously we were watching the episode, most of the people who were shooting weren't able to work, they were stopping in between and laughing and having a good time. At that time, we were all happy and cheering. For me, the thing which worked for me was that it did not seem like any time had passed at all. In fact, when I was in the car on my way to the sets, there was an old episode playing and I was telling Kiku that no time has passed. It feels like the same old Kapil Sharma in a good way. It feels like home and is very comforting.
This is your show post wedding to Keith Sequeira. Also, Kapil is now married. Did it lead to any leg pulling?
We were so busy pulling his leg, that he did not get an opportunity of pulling our legs. It was really fun. In fact, Keith also came down and Ginni was also there to celebrate; it helps to have your person with you in such moments as they get more special. I think Keith has always been my biggest support and critic as well, someone I can trust with constructive criticism. He is happy when my work does well. He believes in me more sometimes than I believe in myself. So, it does feel much better after marriage. You have someone by your side. We had a blast recently when we celebrated post first episode, it is so happy to see everyone settled down. Kapil has now settled down, he is so happy. The whole energy of the team has changed for better. Everyone is rearing to go. It is amazing to see how each character has overdone themselves to come out and perform.
What character will we see you in this time?
The name of my character is Chingari. So, she is sparky, she is glamorous. From the glamour point of view, it will be similar but this time Chingari would be doing different things, different avatars. I will get to explore a lot more.
Your expectations from the show?
I read a few reviews who wrote, 'there is nothing new (in the show)'. It is so funny because my help, the drivers who pick us, rickshaw, people who meet us at the airport, they don't want anything new, they want Kapil Sharma for who he is and the team for who they are. That would be my expectations that people could find their happy place again. Just like me with TV show FRIENDS, I still watch that show. When something is good, it becomes a part of you and your family, we come back to being that household name again, something that everybody loves. We are not always going to keep experimenting or do new things for the sake of it. There are things that work and people love us for that and we will keep that.
Sunil is also back with his new show Kanpur Waale Khuranas which also airs at the same time. Does this make you feel competitive or do you share the same camaraderie with him today?
Honestly, when we got on sets, nothing really felt different. Personally, I am very good friends with Sunil, we are neighbours as well. So we keep in touch, and I do miss Sunil, Ali, Sumona and others on personal front but from the first day of shooting, I don't think anyone of us missed the energy in this new click together. I think that is good because we needed to have a team which fits together and which works without any gaps as well. But you do miss working with your former colleagues. Honestly, despite all reports, if you go to either one of the sets, you will see, for us our job is to make people laugh and if they and we are doing the same and people are happy, it is a win and win. Sunil's form of comedy and Kapil's form of comedy are different, they worked when they were together and even if they are apart, then people will get to choose which form they like. It is not a competition, it is just preference. It is good for comedy in India. I wish them well and so they do.
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