She sat in the wings. Quiet. Alone. A few minutes later she would take the stage and floor us not only with her comic timing, but also her singing skills. Meet Johny Lever’s 26-year-old daughter Jamie J, who studied marketing but seems all geared up to kick up a laughter storm much like her dad. A t2 chat… 

How challenging is it to be Johny Lever’s daughter?
Actually people have a lot of expectations from me. So, it is difficult to come into the comedy scene and then show your own personality or how different you are. Comedy itself is difficult and then to be Johny Lever’s daughter and come into the comedy scene is obviously difficult. Thankfully, in my case, people have been so loving because I think they have a special relation with my dad. 

You studied marketing in London and then this switch happened… 
Something in my heart said that this is not for you. It’s destiny… had to happen. At no point did my parents say that you have to do comedy. Though over the years they saw some kitanu…. but they let me be. I think for them education was a priority because they could not do that in their lives. ‘Be secure and then you are free to do what you want,’ they told me. And when I had done everything, I was like ‘let me do my thing now’. 

Was there a moment when you thought of quitting your marketing job in London and plunge into full-time comedy? 
There was! I was doing my 9-to-5 job, but I just couldn’t sit at one place… it was just not possible. I was getting depressed and would try and see if I could find something creative. I started writing my material. It was a big signal for me. One day when my dad came to visit me in London, I told him that this is what I wanted to do. My parents were shocked. 

What were your starting-out days like?
When I came back, it was not like I had everything on a silver platter because my father was whoever he was in the industry. I had to figure out my own way. I went to a comedy club and asked if I could perform. That’s how it started. I had my own struggle. And then when I heard about Comedy Circus (TV show), I went and auditioned. In fact my dad wasn’t even very sure about me going into TV. Now, people know me for nice, sweet comedy. I am getting there somewhere. People call me Little Ashatai (for her Asha Bhosle items). 

Do you remember the state of mind you were in before that first live show?
The audience was seated close… if you are bad, they would tell you that. I became a different person and somewhere that confidence came. Comic gene! (Laughs) You should see me before the performance. I am a nervous wreck. I sit like somebody has given me a punishment… ‘you cannot move from this place’. I am constantly rehearsing my lines, getting all kinds of negative thoughts, going over my father’s instructions… so, a hundred things. 

Did your dad sit you down and give you tips?
Oh! He sits me down every day (laughs). Every day I get my lessons from him… a big bhashan he gives me. He understands that it is a difficult job, especially stand-up comedy. You have to create a whole new world… take them into your magic world. And you have to do that. He says comedy can come out of anything. Just observe. A comedian will always see with a different eye… a tedha way. He is also a strict boss. He may be my dad, but 90 per cent of the times he is a boss. Today’s Bengali song was especially for the Calcutta audience. He told me to listen to it a hundred times. And I did! 

What’s your process?
I’ll just sit by myself… then there are times when I would shut my room and I am rehearsing.... Mirror ke samne baith jao and I am watching tapes over and over again. It is a lot of hard work… practice... researching… newspapers, TV, books, movies…. My dad is going over the material the whole day in his mind. It’s not like you can take out two hours and practise. It’s like a 24x7 job. Also, the more people hear your material, the better. I must have enacted the Asha Bhosle item in front of a 100 people before I went on TV and performed… till I got it perfect and had the confidence. At home, we do singing riyaz. As a kid, I trained in Indian classical music. I go for dance classes. We also take Hindi and Urdu training.

Like father, like daughter: “This is my daughter. What can you do about it? Manufacturing defect hai!” laughed Johny Lever, as daughter Jamie exited the stage after her performance. When Jamie performs, Johny the dad is nervous. This was Jamie’s first visit to Calcutta and she took back a lot of claps! “So supportive, so energetic. I added a few things to impress them a little more, like the Bengali song (Sadher lau)!” Jamie told t2 post-show. That was Johny, the seasoned stand-up comic’s idea. “I forced her to sing that Bengali song!” he smiled. And what is the secret of his energy? “My wife (Sujatha). She takes care of me. ‘Go to bed early, eat this and don’t eat that,’ she’ll say. I am lucky!” he laughed. 

Jamie’s Johny pick
I love Babulal. ‘Anarkali ka phone tha, ice cream khana zaroori hai’ is an iconic dialogue! Baazigar is my all-time favourite. I can watch it over and over again. I like how his material has a message in the end.

Her dad apart, she likes Kapil Sharma’s comedy. “He is doing so well today. I am also doing Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (an Abbas-Mustan comedy which is Kapil’s debut film) with him, my first film. Mine is not a big role, but it is a small, sweet role.”

 

“What are you getting for us?” we asked the Bollywood comedian on phone, hoping for a teaser to his Johny Lever Live! partnered by t2 and presented by Centre Stage Creations. “You will have to come and see!” the 58-year-old chuckled. Of course you had to be there at GD Birla Sabhagar last Saturday evening to chuckle and laugh out loud till your jaws ached. Most of the audience emerged from the hall looking somewhat like the crying-because-I-am-laughing-so-much emoticon on WhatsApp! 

In town for a performance after more than two decades, the comedian who was on every ’90s child’s Bolly diet took Calcuttans on a three-hour laughathon with his quips and comic timing. Flitting from films to politics to TV to music to drunkards (t2 says bottoms, er, thumbs up!) to relationships... you might have gone breathless laughing, but the man kept it coming. 

Johny Lever as a grandmother surfing channels; Johny Lever as Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi (our PM’s bhashan baritone to boot); Johny Lever as Saroj Khan; Johny Lever as Michael Jackson (the moonwalk, yes); Johny Lever as Shakira (hips and lips didn’t lie); Johny Lever as Sunny Leone (perfect Baby doll jhatkas), Johny Lever as a drunk….  All with just a 30-minute break and a couple of bottles of mineral water. “We know what will work… I have been doing this for 40 years,” he had told t2. Yes and how!

Saionee Chakraborty
Which is your favourite Johny Lever film? Tell t2@abp.in

 

WHAT THEY LOVED

“Johny Lever was amazing. His body language and style are unlike anyone else’s. The way he mimicked everyone, especially the politicians, were so accurate and hilarious.” —Namit Bajoria, managing director, Kutchina, who dropped by with wife Mita and daughter Urvika

“This show is amazing and refreshing. Johny Lever has immense talent and he deserves a standing ovation.” — Sundeep Bhutoria, who enjoyed the show with wife Manjari

 

 

 

 

“Watching Johny Lever live was a dream come true. After a long time, I saw a gut-busting performance like this. More than his jokes, his actions and expressions were hilarious. Also the fact that he made jokes out of everyday situations show us that we should not take life too seriously.” —Vedant Gourisaria, first-year BCom (hons), St. Xavier’s College 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text: Deborima Ganguly
Pictures: Arnab Mondal