Jeetendra says Ekta Kapoor built ₹4 crore set for show when bungalows were given for shoots at ₹8k: ‘Sasta pad gaya’

A new ‘uncensored’ video from The Kapil Sharma Show, featuring Jeetendra and Ekta Kapoor, was shared on the comedian’s YouTube channel. The episode was originally telecast last month.

Jeetendra talked about how back in the day, television shows were shot in bungalows, which were rented out at ₹25,000 for film shoots and at ₹8,000 for serial shoots. “Shobha (Kapoor, his wife) and Ekta erected sets for ₹4 crore at that time. The idea was to amortise, to use it in such a way and get the grandeur also,” he said.

“Pehle aisa koi karta nahi tha, set nahi lagata tha (Back then, no one would erect sets for a television show). Then they did it. You have to think out of the box. They thought out of the box, they saved money. On the contrary, yeh bohot sasta pad gaya. ₹4 crore ka set laga ke usko 5 saal chalaya (it turned out to be quite economical. They used the ₹4 crore set for five years),” he added.

Ekta and Shobha’s banner, Balaji Telefilms, has produced long-running television shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Pavitra Rishta, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Kumkum Bhagya and Kundali Bhagya.

Also see | Ekta Kapoor jokes Shobha Kapoor asks her to drop actors from shows: ‘Paise zyada maang rahe hai’

In the video, Ekta also talked about working throughout the lockdown via Zoom calls. “Mostly humara kaam toh writing hai toh ghar pe baith kar bhi ho jaata hai. Ghar mein baithna bada problem ho gaya tha. Inke liye, kyunki main ghar pe thi (Our work mostly involves writing so it could be done from home. But sitting at home was a huge problem. For him, because I was at home),” she quipped.