Exclusive: Johnny Lever Talks About Abruptly Losing Work His Sonâs Cancer Battle and More

Johnny Lever is one of Indian cinema’s most beloved comic performers, a man whose laughter has echoed across generations. Born John Prakash Rao Janumala and raised amid hardship in Mumbai, he transformed lived experience into an extraordinary gift for humour.

A pioneer of stand-up comedy in India, Lever brought mimicry, physical comedy and razor-sharp timing into the mainstream long before the format was fashionable. With over three hundred films to his credit, he became an indispensable presence in 1990s Hindi cinema, often elevating supporting roles into show-stealing performances. Warm, instinctive and endlessly human, Johnny Lever remains a true original. Excerpts from an engaging interview with the inspiring actor.

How did you start your career as a comedian?

It all began with dancing. I loved to dance as a child. There were record dance programmes back then and after watching shows curated by Junior Mehmood, I felt inspired enough to participate in them. Later, around the age of 17–18, I began doing mimicry. My father and uncle worked at Hindustan Lever and I too joined the company when I turned 18. My first salary was Rs 600, while my father was earning Rs 1,500.

I started getting work in orchestras. For each show, I would earn around Rs 150–200. One day, I got an offer to do an advertisement,“kachua jalao, machchar bhagao”, directed by Shekhar Kapur. I performed it in the voices of Om Prakashji and Raaj Kumarji, and I was paid Rs 25,000 for it. At the time, it was a huge amount. I told my mother that my father had received Rs 35,000 as his retirement money after working his entire life, while I had brought home Rs 25,000 in a single day. My father would often say, “What does he even do, after all?” After that day, he never said anything again. Soon after, I quit Hindustan Lever and began working in orchestras full time, where I performed stand-up comedy. I joined Kalyanji–Anandji’s orchestra and my first tour with them was in England in 1979. Through them, I started getting film offers. At the time, people mostly listened to cassettes, and my mimicry cassette, Hansi Ke Hungame, became popular worldwide. Filmmakers began asking me to do mimicry in films. I appeared in films like Tezaab (1988), Jalwa (1987), Love 86 (1986), and Narsimha (1991). I became widely known after Jalwa. Director N Chandra taught me how to act. I began to understand the craft, watching films of Johnny Walker, Kishore Kumar and Mehmood bhai. I was also a great admirer of Charlie Chaplin and watched his films closely. Gradually, people began to say that this boy could do more than just mimicry.

It is easy to achieve success, but very difficult to sustain it. In the film industry, when you gain name, fame and money, you begin to believe it will last forever. Then, suddenly, life comes to a standstill. There is a kind of darkness, no one is able to see you. My son’s suffering taught me that life is not a comedy. Life is a war and you must always be prepared to fight it.

Yes, that is true. Many actors didn’t arrive on time but I was always very punctual. Even if the main actor or hero came in at noon, I would still report on time for the 9 o’clock shift. The actors who didn’t respect time back then are sitting at home today. Amitabh Bachchan always reached on time. The same was true of Pran saab. I have done many films with him. There was a phase when he was shooting two films simultaneously: Prakash Mehra’s Jaadugar (1989) and Ketan Desai’s Toofan (1989). Toofan was being shot in town, while Jaadugar was shot in Chandivali. Amitji would arrive at the second set only after finishing work on the first. Pran saab, however, would come on time and sit in full make-up, wearing his beard. He would keep it on from morning till evening. Once I asked him, “Amitji will only come in the evening, so why are you in get-up since morning?” He replied, “I was called at 9 in the morning, so I will be ready with my make-up. This is my work.” He never complained. Who does that today?

Today, people prefer to keep their distance; there is a lot of insecurity. Earlier, people genuinely helped one another. Pran saab and Rehman saab introduced Johnny Walker saab, Johnny Walker in turn introduced Mehmood bhai. Rajesh Khanna came through Kalyanji–Anandji and got his first film, Raaz, because of them. People actively helped others find work, it isn’t like that anymore. That said, I had a wonderful time working with Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar. The atmosphere on set with them was always very warm. Sometimes I would cook mutton biryani, sometimes something else, and everyone would sit together and enjoy it.

Has it ever happened that you were feeling sad and still had to enact a comedy scene?

This has happened many times. Once, I was shooting for a film when my sister passed away. On another occasion, my father developed gangrene and the doctors said his leg would have to be amputated. I loved my father deeply, he was my hero. At that time, I was shooting for Baadshah but I did not leave the set. I gave the shot with a smile on my face. Shah Rukh Khan bhai and Abbas–Mustan supported me immensely. We shared a great understanding on that set.

She has a Master’s degree in Marketing Communications from the University of Westminster and initially wanted to be an entrepreneur. One day, during her internship in London, she called me and said she wanted to become a stand-up comedian. She had gone to a café with her friends where a boy was performing stand-up and he was doing it badly. She felt she could do it much better. She called me but I didn’t agree immediately because it isn’t an easy profession. Later, I had a show in London and gave her five minutes on stage, telling her that if she managed to perform there, I wouldn’t stop her. She received a standing ovation. After that, I didn’t hold her back. I never recommend  her to anyone. She has achieved everything on her own merit.