How
Johnny
Lever
Got
His
Name?
Johnny
Lever's
real
name
is
John
Rao.
While
working
at
Hindustan
Lever,
his
stand-up comedy
and
mimicry
became
such
a
sensation
there
that
the
union
leader
christened
him
'Johnny
Lever'.
It's
Been
A
Tough
Journey
The
actor
had
to
drop
out
of
school
when
he
was
in
seventh
standard
because
of
some
financial
problems.
Later,
he
started
working
odd
jobs,
such
as
selling
pens
on
the
streets
of
Mumbai
by
imitating
Bollywood
actors
and
dancing
to
their
songs.
How
He
Landed
His
First
Big
Break
Johnny
Lever
used
to
perform in
musical
shows
(orchestras)
for
Tabassum
Parade and
later
for
Kalyanji-Anandji.
He
did
a
lot
of
world
tours
with
them;
one
of
his
first
big
tours
being
with
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
1982.
During
these
tours,
he
caught
the
eye
of
Sunil
Dutt
who
gave
him
his
first
break
in
Bollywood
with
Dard
Ka
Rishta.
His
First
Success
He
tasted
major
success
with
Shahrukh
Khan
starrer
Baazigar
where
he
played
the
role
of
an
absent-minded
servant
named
Babulal.
Johnny
went
on
to
give
memorable
performances
in
films
like
'Khiladi',
'Judaai',
'Love
Ke
Liye
Kuch
Bhi
Karega' amongst
others.
Daughter
Jamie
Speaks
His
daughter
Jamie,
who
is
also
a
popular
stand-up
comedian
as
well,
had
once
revealed
in
an
interview,
"In
real
life,
my
dad
is
nothing
like
his
goofy
on-screen
characters.
He
is
a
strict,
conservative
South
Indian
dad.
Growing
up,
our
mother
kept
us
away
from
the
film
world
he
worked
in.
He
wanted
me
to
not
only
complete
my
graduation
but
do
a
post
graduation,
get
a
good
job,
and
settle
down."