'I was the first choice to judge TGILC'

Pakistani ace comedian Umer Sharif's loss turned out to be the gain of India's legendary funnyman, Johnny Lever. He has joined the panel of judges for Sony's Comedy Circus that also includes Satish Shah and Archana Puran Singh. Often it is Johnny who's most ribs tickling; however, this time around it's the other way around as participants of CC have taken over this onerous task while Lever will be gauging them.

The actor, who actually loathes to judge, has agreed to be among the panelists for Comedy Circus this time around. So, what has prompted this change? "Honestly, I've never liked being a judge as I don't like to rate people. Before roping in Sidhu and Shekhar Suman for The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, director Pankaj Saraswat first approached me, but I declined. However, what caught my imagination here (Comedy Circus) is the unlikely pairing of a TV actor and a stand-up comedian. I liked the concept and was very much keen to see how this would materialise," explains Johnny.

The actor admitted of being weary of the outcome, however, after watching the participants perform, Johnny is convinced that this jodi (pairing) will be a hit. "I was really surprised to see actors who normally make you weep can have you in splits completely," sighed Johnny. When quizzed who he found the best, the actor replied, "It's too early to pass a comment on one, but I must confess that I was completely bowled over by the performance of Swapnil Joshi and VIP. " Johnny heaped special praises on VIP, who he regarded as a truly versatile stand-up comedian.

Speaking of his task at hand, Johnny states that being a judge on this show isn't an easy proposition as we have to evaluate them as a pair and not just as individuals. "Being a judge is a hard job, but it's even a harder task for these contestants to perform. Most of these pairs are unfamiliar to each other and as such they had very little time to develop a bond. For this relationship to prosper it has to adopt a 'give and take' policy at very step", opined Johnny.
However, one pair didn't quite heed to the wiseman's advice when Pratap Faujdar blamed his actor partner Ketkii Dave for the poor performance. Not only did he invoke the ire of the judges, the Sardar could now find himself voted out by the audience. It's precisely here that Johnny advices all to tread every step carefully. "So far we have been very lenient, but in the coming weeks, expect us to leave no stone unturned as we resort to stringent assessing to chose the righteous winners," claims Johnny.

Commenting on the current state of comedy, the actor says that quantity hasovertaken quality. Comedy has become like fast food. People prefer hogging to digesting. The actor agrees that there is an overdose of laughter, but the commercialization has provided opportunities to these artists, who normally come from humble backgrounds.

He points another thing that ails stand-up comedians is the lack of freedom in this country. Artists fear that a joke or a humourous comment on any person, caste or religion could land him/her to into trouble. Superstars like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant are demi-gods, thus any remark against them can lead to chaos. Thus, we are never able to express our creativity.

On being asked who's presently the best stand-up comedian in the industry, a narcissist, Johnny still rates himself the best. Not delving into any names, the funnyman says that a true comedian is one who touches your soul.

While he may be seen regularly on TV now, the actor has five-six films up his sleeve. Expressing his anguish over the lack of good scripts, Johnny chides "I have decided to cut down on movies as I'm tired of playing the same characters. In the past, I've refused fruitless films for my stage shows. The dearth of good writers has stalled the growth of comedy films."

Finally, the actor gets nostalgic when asked about his journey. "I started off as a labour. The first time I went to work, a man ordered me to pick up the broom. I still remember his exact words. "Tu padha likha nahi hai to tujhe yehi kam karma padega. Tere pitaah ne bhi yeh kaam kiya tha. (Since you're not well educated, you will have to do this work. After all, you're just carrying your father's legacy.') That was then and today, I stand before you as 'Johnny Lever - The Comedy King'."

Truly a rags to riches story!