‘Don’t Torture People On The Pretext Of Comedy’

Comedian Johnny Lever remains a sought-after star in mainstream Hindi cinema, though quantity of comedies has declined lately. Seen in David Dhawan’s latest rib-tickler Coolie No. 1, the 63-year-old actor speaks to Giridhar Jha about his career and more… Excerpts:

Coolie No. 1 reunited you with David Dhawan.

David Dhawan-ji makes comedies only and is always thinking of making his movies hilarious. He made Coolie No. 1 with Govinda 25 years ago and now, he made it with his son (Varun Dhawan). He remains the same…the same stamina and enthusiasm.  

You have worked in big-ticket comedy series made by film-makers like Rohit Shetty (Golmaal) and Sajid Nadiadwala (Housefull). But there are only a few film-makers like them...

Everybody cannot pull off a comedy. It is easy for directors such as David Dhawan or Priyadarshan, but it is difficult for others. Sometimes, we are surprised to see our own performance in their films because the director is able to extract the best out of us. A director like Sooraj Barjatya says he does not understand comedy. He tells me, “Johnny bhai, do whatever you think is best.”

It seems the number of comedy films has gone down? Is it hard to make a comedy film?

It is difficult to make people laugh nowadays because their sense of humour has increased. Today, everybody has a mobile phone. No matter where they are, all kinds of jokes keep popping up on their cellphones. You have to work hard in a comedy in terms of writing, scripting etc. Also, you have to observe what clicks at the box office.

But it seems people have lost their sense of humour. Police cases are registered against comics. You have mimicked celebrities over the past four decades. Did anybody ever take exception?

Nobody ever objected to my jokes. But you should be careful. We have the responsibility for whatever we do or say in our performance. Even if we throw mud at someone, he should feel it’s done nicely. Everything should be artistic. These things have declined now. We cannot blurt out whatever comes to our mouth. Even if the writer-director tells you to do an offensive scene, tries to convince you that it does not matter, you should put your foot down. I have done it all these years and I still do it. If I detect flaws in the script, I sit with the writers for hours to fix them. The audience understands your hard work. They are not stupid. What right do we have to torture people on the pretext of comedy?

You perform after checking the content minutely?

I have to do it to save myself. Should I blindly repeat whatever the scriptwriter has written just for the money? My admirers should never feel bad over anything I say.  Mistakes are, of course, made. But if you repeat them, they will stop liking you.

Comedians are not considered for top honours like the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

Dadasaheb Phalke is a big award. Kishore Kumar made great films, great music, sang great songs and did great comedy. If he did not get it, how can I get it? Like him, Mehmood was a comic genius. He made films like Kunwara Baap (1974), where he made the audience cry while giving a strong message to society. If he was not found worthy, who am I?

Top stars refused to work with Mehmood, fearing he would steal the scene. Did you have a similar experience?

Yes, it happened to me. Some artistes do feel insecure. Poor fellows don’t understand comedy. They think the entire attention of the audience will be on me. Even though they have tried to sideline me, I have only thought about improving the scene.

We are in the era of stand-ups. Your daughter (Jamie Lever) is a talented artiste. Many newcomers have become overnight sensations.

My first audio cassette hit the market around 1982. After that, people started coming to my shows. Later, I did many films, but I got success after 12 years with Baazigar (1993). I began to get good work after that. New artistes have to understand they cannot reach the top overnight. It takes time. The new generation cannot do the kind of hard work I did. Of course, modern technology is such that you get exposed in a jiffy. I worked my way up through street shows. Today, you can reach the whole world with one show. It is a dangerous challenge. You have to give something new to the audience. Otherwise you will disappear. Overexposure is dangerous. You have to keep reinventing yourself.