Sharma was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India as Kapil Punj. His father Jeetendra Kumar Punj was a head constable in Punjab Police, while his mother Janak Rani is a homemaker. His father was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and died in 2004 at AIIMS in Delhi. He studied at Shri Ram Ashram Senior Secondary School, Amristar and Hindu College in Amritsar. He is featured in the list of prominent alumni of Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar. Sharma has a brother named Ashok Kumar Sharma, who is a Police constable and a sister named Pooja Pawan Devgan.