Comedian Chandan Prabhakar has recalled how he and Rajeev Thakur repeatedly urged the makers of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge to reconsider Kapil Sharma after he was rejected during the initial auditions. Speaking on the LPU DSW YouTube channel, Chandan revisited the period when all three friends were struggling performers trying to establish themselves in the entertainment industry.

According to Chandan, he and Rajeev were selected during the Punjab auditions, but Kapil did not receive a call. The pair were surprised by the outcome because they considered Kapil exceptionally talented. Chandan said they continued questioning how the judges could have overlooked him, while Kapil remained determined to secure another opportunity to enter the comedy competition.

Kapil subsequently decided to audition again in Delhi and persuaded Chandan to accompany him despite Chandan already having a scheduled shoot. Chandan said they left without informing others and waited in a lengthy queue at the Delhi venue. Kapil emerged feeling positive about his performance, but did not immediately receive confirmation that he had been selected for the programme.

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After Chandan and Rajeev joined the show, they continued telling assistant directors that the production team had made a mistake by excluding Kapil. Chandan recalled that staff initially advised them to focus on their own performances, but the two comedians repeated their request during rehearsals. Their appeals eventually succeeded, and the makers informed them that Kapil had been called to join the competition.

The development, however, produced an unexpected outcome for Chandan. He said the team first told him that Kapil would be arriving and then informed him that he had to leave the programme. While Rajeev and Kapil remained with the show, Chandan packed his belongings and returned home. His account illustrated both his confidence in Kapil’s abilities and the uncertainty surrounding their early careers.

After leaving the competition, Chandan briefly resumed his engineering career. A mechanical engineer by training, he worked at a software engineering company before realising that the profession did not match his ambitions and returning to entertainment. He later became widely recognised through Comedy Nights with Kapil and The Kapil Sharma Show, where his longstanding friendship and comic partnership with Kapil attracted a large television audience.

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