Comedy Nights With Kapil: Ali Asgar says he will never be Dadi again

New Delhi, Jan 16: For all those of you yet to recover from the news that Comedy Nights With Kapil will end on January 17, here’s another bad news: Ali Asgar, aka Dadi, says he will “never return” as the much loved character in any future seasons of the show.

Asgar, who made phrases like ‘Ittu Sa Tha’ and ‘Dadi Ki Pappi’ so deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness of the TV viewing audience, wants to concentrate on his new show. He played Kapil Sharma’s ‘Dadi’ on the comedy show for as many as three years.

“I don’t want to play Daadi now. I know Kapil is coming up with a show. But I am done with the role. Now, my focus will be on Woh Teri Bhabhi Hai Pagle. I think we have ended the show on the right note and the character has achieved what it had to. Other actors on ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ experimented with new characters. But I played Daadi for last three years. I was in the same get up. Now if the show comes up on some other channel, I have no objection with someone else playing the role. With due respect, there will be no bad blood,” Ali told Times of India.

In another development, Ali was granted anticipatory bail by the Bombay High Court in a case filed against him for spoofing self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Justice Ajey Gadkari granted Ali bail on a surety of Rs 25,000 for a week by when the comedian will have to approach a court in Haryana where the FIR has been lodged against him and seven others in the case. Ali had approached the High Court after the arrest of his colleague Kiku Sharda by the Punjab and Haryana police after a case under section 295 (A) (act intended to outrage religious feelings) of IPC was registered against them.

“I am a law abiding citizen of India, a resident of Mumbai. I have never come to the adverse notice of any law enforcement agency,” Ali said.

Ali, along with Kiku, had enacted a skit on a programme titled Jashn-e-Ummed aired in December last year following which a follower of Ram Rahim lodged an FIR in Kaithal, Haryana.

The FIR was filed on January 1 by a follower of the Haryana-based religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda. Besides Sharda and Asgar, it names actors Gaurav Gera, Rajiv Thakur, Pooja Banerjee, Mouni Roy, Gautam Gulati and Sana Khan “and all known and unknown persons who make or act in the show Jashan-e-Umeed” for portraying their leader in “bad light”.

As per the FIR, the actors were shown dressed as “his holiness and dancing, consuming liquor and seeking donation”. “No donation is accepted by the Guru and the organization is strictly against liquor consumption,” the FIR said.