Johny Lever's early life began on August 14, 1957, in Kanigiri, Andhra Pradesh, where he was born as John Prakash Rao Janumala. He grew up in Mumbai's King's Circle area, specifically in Dharavi. Lever's mother tongue is Telugu, and he studied at the Andhra Telugu School until the seventh grade.
However, due to financial constraints, he had to discontinue his education and took up various odd jobs to make ends meet. He sold pens on the streets of Bombay, imitating Bollywood stars and dancing to their songs. Lever also spent his early years in Yakutpura, an old city in Hyderabad, where he learned the unique style of comedy acting.
Inspired by comedians like Johnny Walker, Kishore Kumar, and Mehmood in films, and mimicry artists like Dinesh Hingoo and Nerella Venumadhav on stage, Lever developed a passion for mimicry and stand-up comedy. He met his mentor Pratap Jani and mimicry artist Ram Kumar, who guided him and taught him the basics of mimicry.
Lever worked at Hindustan Lever's factory in Mumbai with his father, entertaining his coworkers by imitating Elvis Presley. His popularity earned him his professional name, and he started performing in musical shows and orchestras. He joined the group of Kalyanji-Anandji, a legendary music direction duo, and toured the world with them, including a notable tour with Amitabh Bachchan in 1982.
During this period, Lever became an instant hit, but another comedian, Johnny Fever, emerged to fill his gaps. However, Fever's fame was short-lived, and Raju Srivastav took over. Lever learned a great deal from his mentor Kalyanji, who was described as a great philosopher and a very humorous person.
Lever's talent was noticed by actor Sunil Dutt, who offered him his first movie, Dard Ka Rishta. In the 1980s, he released his mimicry/comedy album, Hansee Ke Hungame, which became a hit worldwide, increasing his fame to new heights. He also appeared in commercials for Kachua chhap incense, directed by Shekhar Kapoor.
In 1986, Lever performed in the charity show "Hope 86" in front of the entire Hindi film industry, and his talent was recognized, leading to producer Gul Anand offering him a film called Jalwa with Naseeruddin Shah. Throughout his career, Lever has received 13 Filmfare Awards nominations in the Best Comedian Category and has won the award twice.
Johny Lever is considered an influential Indian comedian who has inspired many other comics. His unique style of comedy acting, mimicry, and stand-up comedy has made him a household name in India and globally.
