Mukesh Khanna Calls Kapil Sharma's Show 'Ashleel', Ali Asgar Defends His Drag Characters: 'Kapil Knows The Audience's Pulse'

Ali Asgar, known for his integral role on 'The Kapil Sharma Show', has defended his portrayal of characters in drag. Ali played the character of Dadi on 'Comedy Nights with Kapil' from 2013 to 2016.

Actor Ali Asgar, known for his integral role on 'The Kapil Sharma Show', has defended his portrayal of characters in drag. Ali played the character of Dadi on 'Comedy Nights with Kapil' from 2013 to 2016 and Nani on 'The Kapil Sharma Show' from 2016 to 2017.

Ali Asgar reacts to Mukesh Khanna's comment on his 'Dadi' character

Recently, actor Mukesh Khanna described Ali’s character as “fuhad (awkward)” during a conversation on his YouTube channel. In response, Ali said, “That’s your personal opinion, so I can’t say anything. People often ask why they make a boy into a girl. From my understanding, it’s because nobody’s dadi (grandmother) would be like me. She wouldn’t be that energetic.”

Ali explained, “The timing of our shootings was very skewed. We often shot late into the night after shooting two episodes during the day. There had to be gags and integration, so it would get very late. If you cast a senior actress as Dadi, she’d struggle with the late hours, being an older lady.”

 

Mukesh Khanna interrupted, saying, “That’s not the right reason, do heroines not work late into the night?” Ali continued, “Another reason is that when we make a boy into a woman, it’s not an original character. Therefore, we can take a lot of creative liberties and have a lot of fun. Since the character isn’t original, there’s nothing to be offended about.”

Ali Asgar speaks about Kapil Sharma

Ali also praised Kapil Sharma for his comedic sensibilities, reminiscing about being part of the hit comedy show. “The premise of the show is a family that is glamour-struck. There’s a Dadi, two sisters (including Gutthi, played by Sunil Grover), a servant, and a wife. It’s a poor family, they don’t have money, they’re kangaal (broke). All the characters we played were underdogs. Before making fun of someone else, we would make fun of ourselves.”

Ali concluded by saying, “Kapil’s knowledge is phenomenal. He knows the pulse of the audience and can predict which jokes will work and which will fall flat. We’ve seen it in live shows; what he predicted would happen. He is blessed in that way.”