'Comedy Nights with Kapil': Top Controversies in One Year

Kapil Sharma-led "Comedy Nights with Kapil" ("CNWK") is almost a year old, but the popular show has had its share of troubles within this time.

The show which premiered on 22 June 2013 has touched the popularity peak and gained a strong fan base spanning even internationally. But there have been some stinging moments the show had to face.

Here's a look at some of the incidents which posed trouble for the show and its members;

Massive Fire on Sets: Just as "CNWK" was soaring in its popularity charts, the show faced an accident as the entire set of the comedy show was razed to the ground in a massive fire. Properties worth crore were destroyed and show host Sharma was clicked in a sorry state, getting emotional. Celebrities like Lata Mangeshkar, Shah Rukh Khan and several fans came forward to help the comedian with his show. For a brief period, the show was shot in different sets. Salman Khan hosted "Bigg Boss 7"s set was even used at that point to shoot "CNWK."

Later, a brand new magnificent set was created, which is now used for the show's shooting.

Tax Evasion: Sharma was also dragged into an alleged tax evasion case last year soon after the massive fire. Reports had carried that Sharma had tax dues running up to ₹60 lakh. However, the comedian had issued a press conference stating that the tax payment had got delayed but it had been paid.

Sunil Grover aka Guthi's Exit: Sharma's show has delivered successful characters like Dadi, Palak, Bua, Guthi, who have all added to the show's growth. And when Grover's awkward-dressed-small-town-girl character Guthi faced a similar popularity, tensions within the show began to surface. Discussions came up whether Sharma or Grover was the better performer. The deliberations led to the news of Grover quitting the show, much to the dismay of fans. Later, speculations of fallout between Grover and Sharma did rounds even though both the actors denied such reports.

Grover went on to start a comedy show of his own in a rival channel where he donned a character similar to Guthi called Chutki. The show, however, proved to a lame copy of "CNWK" and was eventually called off.

Women Jokes: Sharma is known to be naturally a witty host as he wins the hearts of the audience with his funny gags. But at one point, his joke on pregnant women proved to be in a bad state as an NGO complained the matter to the Maharashtra State Commission for Women. The body in return issued a show cause notice to the comedian and the Channel (Colors TV), seeking explanation on the joke on pregnant women which was considered highly insensitive.

Pay to Watch Show: Picking on the show's fame, a group of miscreants cheated several people who wanted to appear on the show as audience. The group is said to have duped people for a steep sum ranging up to ₹10,000 to make them appear as audience in the show. The matter came to light when some audience complained regarding this. Later, the show makers and cast issued statements saying that appearing as audience for the show is free and the group seeking money is fraud.

Narendra Modi's Post Retweet: Sharma came under criticism during recent elections when he retweeted a controversial post by Narendra Modi. The politician had compared saying Rahul Gandhi's antics are more funnier than Sharma's which the comedian had retweeted.

Soon after the retweet, the comedian was faced with criticisms from the supporters of the opposition party. A sticky situation ensued as supporters of both the parties took on each other on the social networking platform. Later, Sharma had to delete the retweet and apologised for the situation.

But presently "CNWK" is running on a smooth state. The show is basking in the adulation of its large audience base as its Facebook page has recorded a staggering 10 million likes. The show makers, cast members including Sharma thanked the fans for the love and support the show has gathered over the months.