On the latest episode of Netflix's The Great Indian Kapil Show, comedian Sunil Grover delivered a performance that transcended traditional mimicry. Dressed in a printed kurta, harem pants, and a hairband, his portrayal of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan went beyond parodying the "perfectionist" tag or repeating a famous line. Instead, Grover meticulously captured the blinking eyes, the beatific half-smile, and the characteristic lean-forward posture Khan adopts while speaking, as if carefully screening his own words.
Beyond Voice: The Art of Capturing the Soul
The act was so compelling that Aamir Khan himself praised it, calling it "so authentic" that he felt he was watching himself and laughed until he was breathless. This reaction highlights the core of Grover's craft. He moves past simple vocal cloning, a staple of countless Instagram impressionists, to construct a character from micro-impressions and hyper-specific physicalities.
Like a skilled cartoonist who exaggerates a few key features to redefine a face, Grover selects precise details. For Aamir Khan, it wasn't just the head tilt. It was the slightly over-earnest clasping of hands when discussing cinema and the thoughtful chewing of sentences before their delivery, as if each word had passed strict quality control. These are nuances audiences recognize instantly, even if they've never consciously noted them before.
From Gulzar to Sidhu: A Showcase of Audacious Range
Grover's audacity was perhaps even clearer in his take on legendary poet-lyricist Gulzar. During the show's Independence Day special last year, Grover, clad in immaculate white kurta-pyjama, captured not just the poet's look but his essence. The mastery lay in the pauses between the shaayari—the poetic exhales, the faintly exasperated inhalations, and the sense of a wordsmith mildly annoyed that language remains insufficient.
His portfolio of impressions is a study in behavioral underlining. He has transformed Salman Khan into a series of preening shrugs, Amitabh Bachchan into a language of apologetic gravitas punctuated by lower-lip bites, and Navjot Singh Sidhu into not just a booming laugh but the self-amused nodding of a man forever applauding his own joke.
The Journey from Gutthi to The Great Impressionist
Sunil Grover's path to becoming India's premier impressionist was forged through years of grind. His break came unexpectedly when satirical legend Jaspal Bhatti visited his college in Chandigarh. Though Grover felt his audition went poorly, Bhatti spotted his talent and later sent for him. This led to roles in Bhatti's Flop Show and Full Tension, where Grover learned the precision needed for a gag to land perfectly.
After stage shows and radio comedy, national fame arrived with the character Gutthi on Comedy Nights with Kapil. Gutthi was itself an impressionist's manifesto—a character built from a unique gait, snort-laugh, and offbeat clapping. A public fallout with Kapil Sharma in 2017 led Grover to films and other shows, where he delivered fine performances but lacked a dedicated stage for his shapeshifting talents.
That stage has now been definitively reclaimed. On The Great Indian Kapil Show, Grover has become the undisputed highlight. Whether he is embodying Ajay Devgn, Mithun Chakraborty, or Allu Arjun, viewers tune in primarily for his next transformative act. In a space filled with celebrities trying to be themselves, the most compelling presence is the one man pretending, with uncanny precision, to be someone else. Sunil Grover proves that the best impressions are not copies but original works of emotional plagiarism, capturing the soul and the subconscious choreography of a public persona.
