Kiku Sharda denies claims of 'using stardom' to oust Vishal Kotian from upcoming comedy show

TV actor Vishal Kotian, who is known for essaying the role of Birbal in Akbar Birbal has accused comedian Kiku Sharda of getting him replaced on an upcoming comedy show. [caption id=“attachment_4177467” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Vishal Kotian and Kiku Sharda in Akbar Birbal. image from Twitter/@CherylWaldiya[/caption] Speaking to Times Of India, Kotian says that the two had been cast in leading roles in a comedy-action show named Partners. He alleges that Sharda wanted to shine in the comedy scenes and therefore, requested the channel to tone down the action. After a while, he again requested the makers to change the title of the show to make it about himself more focus on him more, alleges Kotian. However, when the channel refused to comply, he asked them to get an actor who wasn’t as muscular as Kotian since the action had been toned down. He also says that Sharda brought in a new director to helm his scenes and had been hesitant about other actors getting more screen-time than him. With Sharda’s growing insecurity, Kotian was ultimately shown the door, which he alleges was all Sharda’s doing. The Kapil Sharma Show comedian has, however, denied these claims. He maintains that the call to replace Kotian with Vipul Roy was unanimous and had the channel, director, producer and his consent. Therefore, pointing fingers at just him is unfair. About the roping in a new director to shoot his scenes, he simply says working with someone one is more comfortable with is not wrong.