Johny Lever — the man who has made generations of Bolly buffs laugh till they cried — promises to bring the house down in Dilwale, the Rohit Shetty-directed Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol biggie that releases on December 18. t2 caught up with Laughathon Lever.

For all Johny Lever fans across generations, it’s great to see so much of you in the promos... 

(Smiles) It’s a great film and a very good role. Whatever they promised me in terms of role and screen time, that’s exactly what I got. It’s one of those roles where I have been excited from the first day to the last. Rohit Shetty is the kind of director who knows how to get work out of his actors. Even Shah Rukh Khan worked like a student on this film… it’s a very big thing that Rohit is so much junior to both Shah Rukh and me in terms of experience, and yet we were only too happy to become students and learn new things on the sets of his film. In terms of comedy, Sanjai Mishra and I have a really entertaining track in the film. My character has been written such that I am involved in almost all the moments and scenes of the film… Shah Rukh to Varun (Dhawan), Kajol to Kriti (Sanon), Boman Irani to Varun Sharma… my role is a lot like the role I had in Baazigar (1993, also starring SRK and Kajol). The promo doesn’t even show 10 per cent of what the film is. Bahut hatke picture hai yeh.

How was it working again with Rohit (he famously played Pappi ‘Ghajini’ Bhai in Golmaal 3 in 2010)? 

I got to do a lot of new things in Dilwale, even staying within the realm of comedy. Rohit has made a very different film here… it not only has Rohit’s sensibilities, but also Shah Rukh’s sensibilities. In between shots, they would sit and discuss the film, and how it was being made, at length. Shah Rukh Khan bahut soch samajh ke kaam karne waala aadmi hai… he’s one of our biggest stars ever. He makes sure he leaves his stamp on every film he does. And everything that Rohit does has to be better than his previous film. Dilwale mein unhonein gaadi sirf India mein hi nahin, balki Bulgaria mein jaake udayi hai! (Laughs) If you see the action scenes, you will feel they belong to a Hollywood film. And as far as comedy and romance go, Rohit has outdone himself in Dilwale. Car paltiyan kha rahi hai, dushman chase kar rahein hain… aur usmein bhi Rohit ne romance aur comedy dikhayi hai! (Laughs)

How was it working with Shah Rukh Khan 15 years after Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani?

I had thought he would change, considering we hadn’t even met in the last 10-12 years. He’s such a huge star and I was apprehensive about how he would be attitude-wise. But things were exactly how they were when we worked on Baazigar or Karan Arjun. In fact, I feel that he’s mellowed down a lot today… he’s become calmer and more at peace with himself. Most of the time, when I share screen space with a big star, I am apprehensive about improvising because I don’t want to give too many retakes and waste his time… but with Shah Rukh, it’s nothing like that… he’s always smiling and very, very patient. My introduction scene in Dilwale is with Shah Rukh and I was so scared… kaisa mood hoga? Yeh aadmi toh subah ke paanch baje tak jaaga rehta hai… I was quite worried. But we worked so well together… he’s such a normal guy.
In fact, I got along so well even with Varun and Kriti, despite the age gap between us. You should have seen how nervous Varun and Kriti were before they started shooting with Shah Rukh… but then they became buddies within the first few days. Shah Rukh Bhai ki yeh bahut achhi quality hai… woh kisi ko bhi Badshah banaa dete hain!

It seems impossible to us, but is there a day when Johny Lever doesn’t feel funny?

(Laughs) I do have days like that, but my commitment to my work ranks above everything else. I have never put myself in a position where my personal problems and moods have overshadowed my professional commitments. Woh hamesha sur lag hi jaataa hai, din achha ho ya nahin (smiles). 

Do you see a Johny Lever in the younger generation of comedians?

Aaj sawaal yeh ho gaya hai ki Johny Lever inki tarah comedy kar sakta hai ki nahin? (Laughs) With the generation of today, you never know what clicks with them. But that’s also a challenge… to keep improvising and changing yourself year after year. Waqt ke saath chalna zaroori hai. But yes, I like some of these young boys… Kapil (Sharma) is very good. Varun Sharma, who is with me in Dilwale, is very bright. He has natural comic timing and a very innocent face.

Your daughter Jamie has followed in your footsteps. What’s your advice to her?

She worked as a marketing executive in London for some time and then one day she told me: ‘Papa, mujhe comedy karni hai’. Pataa nahin kya shauk baith gaya. She went off to audition for Comedy Circus (on Sony). They didn’t know who she was. At the auditions, she was told that she had a natural flair for comedy and even then she didn’t tell them my name. When she finally did, everyone was taken aback. She has such a passion for stand-up comedy… it’s so refreshing to see that as a father. Now, she accompanies me on my stage shows… jo mujh mein hai woh usmein aa gayaa hai. My only advice to her is to observe more and to use it in her craft. Jo talent hai usey pucca karo.  

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