Why dir. Nandita Das preferred to cast Kapil Sharma as delivery-boy in ‘Zwigato’— even if superstar Shah Rukh would have agreed ? — by Chaitanya Padukone
Excellent stand-up comedian-actor telly superstar Kapil Sharma, known for his pungent insult-comedy with co-stars and his witty jibes and banter with star guest-celebs on his bi-weekly Sony TV show, has now dared to defy his highly-popular hansi-mazaak TV image. In his latest mainstream feature film ‘Zwigato’ , Kapil convincingly plays a hard-working lower middle-class serious de-glam character who earns his living playing a ‘food-delivery-rider-man’ who is called Maanas. “No matter how bumpy the road ahead is, aapka order hum time pey deliver kar denge. Delivering and feeding food to people –Punnya ka kaam hai”, is his daily mission-mantra.
It may be recalled that Kapil Sharma made his Bollywood filmy debut with Abbas Mustan’s romantic comedy Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015) which was appreciated but was not such a big hit. Later, Kapil went on to feature in a period comedy film called Firangi but that too did not storm at the box office. Today, late afternoon the trailer of the Nandita Das directorial ‘Zwigato’ co-produced by dynamic Sameer Nair (Applause Entertainment) was launched. Kapil along with director Nandita and co-star Shahana Goswami was seen attending the trailer launch media-event. During the Mumbai event, the team got into a media interaction where Zwigato was appreciated at its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Now, it is all set to release in India on Friday 17th March 2023
Reacted Kapil, “Maine zindagi mein nahi socha tha, aur inhone ney bhi nahi socha thha. I have always been a fan of director Nandita, have seen her movies Firaaq and Manto. And seeing those films, I hadn’t imagined that she will ever offer me a film. Her films may be serious but in personal life she is quite funny and loves masti-mazaak.. When you see the film, everyone will be able to relate to it. Because my character is of a common-man ( aam aadmi). My past experience during my struggle phase where I was doing all kinds of odd jobs. This movie Zwigato also highlights some of the problems and crisis faced during and after the Corona pandemic, but has its entertainment value..”
When Nandita offered him the film Zwigato, he asked her the reason behind it. Kapil revealed, “When Nandita narrated me the story I asked her ‘why-me’ ? and she said even if a global star like Shah Rukh Khan says yes, I will still not make it with him. Your face is like a common man, so it’s perfectly suited for the delivery-boy character.”
Meanwhile, Kapil will be seen playing the role of a delivery agent named Manas while talented actress Shahana is essaying the role of his wife Pratima. The story revolves around a poor lower middle-class food delivery agent who struggles to earn a living for his family after losing his job during the pandemic.
The outspoken Kapil shared candidly that he would not lose anything even if the film doesn’t work . In a recent media-interview com, he said, “I recently told my wife Ginni , if this film doesn’t work, I will not lose anything. But if it succeeds and is a hit then I will get a lot from it. People will say ‘Kapil ne bahut accha kaam kiya hai’ (Kapil has done very good performance).’ It is important that maximum people watch the film.”
Movie Zwigato poignantly depicts the ongoing class struggle in India by bringing the audience alongside the contemporary life and family-emotions of a food delivery courier located in Jharkhand.Nandita had earlier explained why she chose comedian Kapil Sharma to play the lead role in her film, “The film attempts to make visible what’s hidden from plain sight. One day, Kapil Sharma popped up on my screen! I had not seen his TV shows regularly , but I could figure out that his face and personality is wholly representing the ‘common man’, despite being a top TV star”, explained Nandita.
