The show seems cancerous to me, on the surface.... Quite Misogynistic too (I have seen clips of his "jokes" directed at female guests)....... why is it so popular ? do you watch it ? Colours tv right ?
Sony TV. I watch it especially when there are no cricketer guests.
Well, some times the jokes and the talk is facepalm and some times it is good. Doctor Gulati was good. And so is Baccha Yadav. And Sapna. And Bhuri sometimes.
Kapil's talk with his female guests, especially in earlier times before he got married looked so desperate, and lot of guests have told him that in the show itself.
As to its popularity, I think the show connects with the common person much more than other talk shows like Koffee With Karan which, from the clips I have seen on the internet, has unnecessarily sex-laden talk sometimes which is of course not conducive for family TV rooms.
And I like the occasional music people guests who get to perform and they create a good atmosphere.
There is the element of the "patron-in-chief" sitting on the big chair among the audience. First was Sidhu with his poetry, flair and good talk and now is Archana also with good talk.
And then there are the audience members brought to the stage to do various things. Sometimes good, sometimes cringey.
Finally, there are the guests who are relaxed and witty which is not generally seen by the audience in films. Kapil's show is like the Indian version of The Graham Norton Show.
So various elements have made the show popular.