One of the most popular comedians of the Bollywood film industry Johny Lever was born on 14th August 1956 as John Rao in the village of Amkam in the Prakasam district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh which forms a part of the Indian subcontinent. His nickname is Lallu. He completed his education from Andhra Educational Society.

This immensely talented actor has a strange ability to learn languages and their nuances without understanding the language itself. He has appeared in several films since the era of 1980 enacting comic and supportive roles. He started of as a comedian in his real life while he was still studying at school. When he started his career as a comedian he simply used his talent to imitate his teachers, his father and his grandpa. Due to unavoidable circumstances he could not complete his education and was dropped out of school when he was just in the seventh standard. But he was not discouraged by his failure in educational grounds.

He got his first break in the Indian cinema in the film Dard Ka Rishta and owes all the thanks to the much popular actor, late Sunil Dutt. The great actor saw him perform at a charity show organized by Kalyanji-Anandji. Then he was offered to act in Hindi films. Since then he has acted in more than 160 films. He has created a style of his own in spite of mimicking many well-known celebrities. It is this talent of his, which makes him unique among the other comedians.

The journey to stardom is like a fairy tale to the extremely talented actor Johny Lever. With his short stature and dark complexion he went on to create history in the genre of comedy. He cannot only shoulder one movie on his shoulders and attract sold-out crowds but can also sell a film once he signs up for it. The sense of comic timing was inborn to him. He has this ability to capture the person`s essence. He also recalls in a recent interview that he once conversed with an African man for half an hour in his language without knowing it and he also did not have any idea, as he did not even know a word. He also goes on to say that his mother is an illiterate and simple woman who speaks with a heavy South Indian accent but the moment she sees someone she starts imitating the accent and mannerisms of that person.

He is of the firm belief that this uncanny ability of his actually runs down his family. His journey to success started in the lanes of his village and then in his school where he would mostly imitate his teachers. He also like other kids loved to watch movies but was not allowed to see many. But in the company of his friends he used to imitate stills from the movies he used to watch and imitate the popular actors of those times. His whole locality used to love his performances and was very fond of him. His father used to get aggravated at times stating that it was a sheer waste of time. After dropping out of school in the seventh standard his father got him a job at Hindustan Lever. He worked for Hindustan Lever in Mumbai for a span of 5-6 years and used to amuse his colleagues by his comic performances. When the time came for him to perform on stage he decided to retain the Lever but it caught on the later ages. After Sunil Dutt gave him the first break things started moving on and he never had to look back since then. With the grace of the Almighty his work kept on getting appreciated and he started scaling the ladders of success. He did not have to struggle as hard as the other actors.

He also considers himself fortunate enough not to fall in the trap of making his acting tinged with the combined essence of other people even after imitating the other actors at such a grand scale. He has managed to hold back his individuality or else it would not have been easy for him to be stereotyped in films where he plays a clone of some other star or the other. He has also managed to keep his comic timing intact when he appeared on screen. The celebrities whom he imitated were awe-struck by his performances. Johny Lever in fact imitated popular actors like Shatrughan Sinha, Ashok Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar to such perfection that even they themselves were quite dazed. He writes his own dialogues that the stars have not spoken but when he utters them on stage the people will think that its actually their dialogues.

This is what is called sheer talent. Once when he was imitating Ashok Kumar using certain words, a guy who knew the great personality was floored down and could not believe that Johny actually has not met Ashok Kumar and also that the words spoken were not a part of his vocabulary. He idolized great comedians like Johny Walker, Mehmood and Jagdeep. He also wonders how Johny Walker has the ordinary but unique sounding voice that never changed. He had the honor of meeting this great persona few years ago and then he was fortunate enough to become his neighbor. The day he praised Johny for his performance in one particular film, he felt so elevated. He also holds high regards for another comedian Mehmood who changed the genre of comedy with his versatility. He is not only a generous hearted and a loving man but also redefined comedy by using an assortment of voice modulations.

Johny Lever has portrayed comic roles in a score of Hindi movies. In the movie Fiza he led a laughing club. His role in Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega was highly appreciated and this was the first time after a long break he felt that he could give his 100%. The script was well written and it did not ask him to overreact. That is the reason he walked away with a few awards in the various award ceremonies for this role of his. He always tries his best not to get stereotyped and even when he is asked to portray the role of a drunkard in four movies he tries to make it different in each of the four times. He also believes that reel life has always been inspired from real life and that no two drunkards are same.

There is always some distinct personality trait that makes one person different from each other. His favorite role so far is the character, which he played in the chartbuster Baazigar starring Shah Rukh Khan, and Kajol. He was much appreciated for this role of his and his fans saw him as an actor of substance. He likes to work with directors who always give him something new, fresh and challenging. He has no hesitation in turning down those who want him in their movies because his name sells like a hot cake. It is in fact this term `challenging`, which makes the director duo Abbas-Mustan his favorites. He believes that they always work that extra ounce to extract the best out of him. But this great actor still feels that he hasn`t exploited even half of his potential. He also considers himself fortunate enough that he has been given the full liberty to work on and improvise on his roles and enact them the way he wants to. It often happens that he is just given the basic guidelines and is told to pen down his own script.

He claims that it the observation part, which helps him to take on the traits that he displays. After years of portraying such comic roles he now feels jaded and is not always inspired by what ever comes his way and has become very selective in the matter of his roles. He has actually stopped signing films and is only accepting roles, which have great substance in it. He enjoys working with great comic actors like Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Shah Rukh Khan and Govinda. Co-starring with actors of such high caliber gives him the opportunity to bring out his best. He also wishes that the comedians would be given the same kind of respect that they get abroad.

According to him the price that is commanded by actors abroad show how well respected their talent is. This is the only reason why he tries to be fresh and original. He also believes that Govinda is such a good actor but the producers and directors have stereotyped him as the `mohalla king` and this is the only reason why he cannot demand high prices like the Khans. The only role he likes is that of Baazigar and he hates to see himself in all the roles other than that. He believes that now he has reached a stage where he can choose his pick.

In his personal life also Johny Lever is a very happy man. He is in fact very close to his family, which comprises of his wife Sujatha and two children Jamie and Jesse. The younger brother of Johny Lever is also a well-known comedian and mimicry artist. His family is like any other family. The actual problem lies with the people outside who always expects him to be funny. The intensity is such that they would even demand him to crack a joke in the funeral ceremony. His kids also love his films and his younger son is showing all signs of being a good comedian.

His wife is also a brilliant critic of his and remarks when she feels that something needs to be added on to the role. He learned the lessons of humility and faith in his life when his son was diagnosed with malignant tumor in his neck and the doctors said that operation is not possible and that he might be paralyzed from one side. It is only prayers to the Almighty that saved his son`s life. He also learnt how significant is the role of family in one`s life and spends all his free time being with them or listening to music. In the small screen he also achieved much name by his own show Johny Aala Re that was hosted by the Zee Television. He is the one to give comedy a new dimension. He not only charmed people with his innocent face but also entertained them with his excellent comic sense. Some of the films in which he acted have become unforgettable classics and part of the credit definitely went to the ace comedian.

Among his favorite actors Dilip Kumar tops the list. It is still a mystery to him how the great actor portrayed the role of a drunkard with such conviction in spite of not having a drop of alcohol. Among his recent works he has jointly collaborated with the Sahara channel in spoofing up the recent releases and he is playing the lead in all of them. He is also planning to do dome original comedy films that he will write or co-write and act in. He is really looking forward for this new venture of his. Besides that he will carry on with his stage performances, which helps him to communicate with the mass and also gets the instant reaction of the audience. His fans expect him to move on in his professional life with the great performances and to entertain the people with this rare artistic flair.