Comedian Kapil Sharma, who hosts the hugely popular show Comedy Nights With Kapil, on Saturday cleared the air over a series of issues that have plagued him this week. The service tax department had registered a case against the stand-up comedian for alleged non-payment of tax dues amounting to nearly '60 lakh on Thursday. “I don’t know anything about it. That’s my chartered accountant’s job; I didn’t focus on it. My father was in the police and never took a rupee from anyone. I have paid '35 lakh of the said amount; the pending '30 lakh will be paid by October,” Mr Sharma said at a press conference held at a suburban restaurant. A day before the case was registered, a major fire gutted the sets of his show at Film City in Goregaon. “I’ve been told that a short circuit was responsible for the fire. I don’t think anyone plotted this fire; we’re all a part of the same industry and each one of us knows just how much effort goes into putting together a show. We are now temporarily shooting near the Bigg Boss sets in Lonavala. The channel is still figuring out the losses that have been incurred in the fire,” he said. Mr Sharma also admitted that a host of Bollywood celebrities had called and offered him monetary support. “Yesterday, I got a call from Lata Mangeshkar offering help. I told her my dad is her fan. Rohit Shetty and Shah Rukh Khan too offered help. I am very thankful for their support and concern,” he said. The fire, however, wasn’t the only issue that emerged from the sets. It was reported earlier this week that Mr Sharma had paid his actors and guests on time, but the crewmembers have had to deal with erratic payment schedules. To questions regarding this controversy, Mr Sharma said, “Rumours of a tiff with the team of the show are baseless. All this talk isn’t true.”
