Exclusive: Johny Lever on consciously cutting down on work; here's what he says

Time of India

22-07-2025

Johny Lever
Veteran comedian Johny Lever, who has entertained audiences for over four decades, has consciously cut down on work in recent years. The reason, he says, is simple - the lack of strong, inspiring roles.
He adds, 'When someone approaches me with a project, I try to see how I can take it a notch higher with my inputs. If the role is not interesting, why would I ruin my name by taking up mediocre work?'
'Comedy pe zyada kaam nahi ho raha hai'
Last seen in Housefull 5, Lever observes that comedy is no longer being explored as actively in films. 'Comedy ko kum kar diya hai, uss pe zyada kaam nahi ho raha hai. Comedy has become tough now. People are watching so much comedy in form of reels, toh aur zyada innovative comedy laaye kahan se? Also, we lack good comedy writers.
Usually, we improvise and enhance a scene. Legends like Mehmood saab and Kishore Kumar saab would add their own inputs to the script.
Hum bhi kar sakte hai par kuch likha toh ho. Kuch dhaancha ho toh uske upar kuch sajayenge na. Dhaancha hi nahi hai toh kya karenge? For now, there's only action in abundance in movies.'
'We used to observe people & imbibe their body language'
Lever also feels there are very few actors today who are keen on doing comedy or who can pull it off well.
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He says, 'The thing is, today everybody is trained in a film school. But the theoretical knowledge doesn't work on set. When you are on a set, you have to follow the cues of the team members. We used to observe people and imbibe their body language for our characters. Character ko andar se jeete the. Pagalon ki tarah kaam karte the.
'
'Comedy mera shauk tha aur phir mera profession ban gaya'
One of the reasons he supported daughter Jamie Lever's decision to step into comedy is that he didn't receive that kind of support from his own father.
'Whenever I used to go on stage, my dad used to come to hit me. Once, I was performing at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai, and he came with a rubber pipe and began chasing me. The audience thought it was part of the act and started laughing and clapping,' he says.
On a nostalgic note, he says, 'One day, I shot an ad and was paid Rs 25,000. It was equivalent to dad's provident fund, which he received after 25 years of service. That is when he realised, 'Mera beta kuch kar raha hai.'
He would be surprised to see people clap and laugh while watching me perform. It opened his eyes. Comedy mera shauk tha aur phir woh mera profession ban gaya.'
'Comedy is in Jamie's blood'
Lever, known for his roles in Baazigar, Koi… Mil Gaya, Awara Paagal Deewana and Golmaal Again, beams with pride when speaking about his daughter Jamie, who has carved a niche in the comedy space. 'See, that's in her blood. Initially, she didn't plan to pursue comedy as a career.
She was studying in London. One day she visited a café with her friends where a live stand-up performance was on and she suddenly told her friends, 'Yeh barabar nahi kar raha.
He is missing all the punches.' She pointed out where the comedian could have added the punches. Then she called her mom up and said she aspires to do stand-up. Pehle mujhe gussa aa gaya, because I've been through struggles, and I was worried that my daughter would also have to go through that,' he says.