What do you feel about the overflow of comedy these daysIJ
Right now, the era of comedy is on. I don’t know whether it is stress or what, but people need comedy in their lives. So we see everyone doing it these days villain, hero, heroine. Filmmakers are trying to make their movies work through comedy. It’s a trend of sorts. Even earlier, lead actors like Dilip Kumar used to do comedy. But the number of films being made then and now has a huge difference. From one film a month, it’s become a few films every week. That’s why there are so many comedies. These are all phases. There was a phase of daku films once, so much so that there weren’t enough horses to keep up with the demand!
At one time, you ruled the roost in comedy…
From 1990 to 2000, I was there in 90 per cent of the films. Before me there was Jagdipji, Mehmoodji, Asraniji. So it’s only natural that someone comes after me.
Among the current lot, whose work do you likeIJ
People like Kapil Sharma, Sudesh lahiri and Krushna Abhishek are doing good work. All of them have their own specialities. But they’ve only just come; they need to sustain their success. It’s easy to get success but difficult to hold it. A lot of people can’t maintain it.
You’ve done over 400 films already. Have you ever thought of aiming for a world recordIJ
No no, I’m not planning to do too many films now. In the 90s, I never said no to any producer. They needed me. Some distributors said that they will distribute only if Johnny lever is there. Sometimes, I didn’t even charge them thinking that there will be a time when I will do only the work I really want to. Now’s the time. For the last 10-12 years, I have only been doing projects I like.
What is your take on the current popular genre of insult comedyIJ
It’s not for me at all. I can’t do the double meaning vulgar comedy. I refuse to say those dialogues and I offer to change them too. And I have my stage shows where I can dictate terms.
Have you ever thought of doing serious rolesIJ
My face just doesn’t appeal to anyone to offer me a serious role. Even when I go for a funeral, people start laughing. So how can I possibly do serious roles thenIJ
You’ve been around for a long time now. How have you seen the industry changeIJ
A lot of things have changed. There are many more girls working today in the film industry and the media in general. Even assistant directors are girls. And there are more educated people around. It wasn’t so before. Earlier, people did as they wanted and their attitude was like ‘kya fark padta hai…ho gaya jo bhi’. Content-wise, it is not as great as before but technically it’s much more advanced today. People like seeing flying cars and 15 men dropping from the hero’s single punch. What’s the need of content when these things are working so well for producersIJ
Your daughter Jamie is also a full-fledged comedienne now. Did you give her any advice before she started offIJ
I told Jamie that comedy is very hard. I also told her that whatever material she is given, she should study it from every possible angle and see
what she can add of her own; give it a personal perspective to it. And, of course, there is no substitute for hard work.