Quotes from Johnny Lever

Comedy is a very difficult thing to do.

Ek Tappa Out' is a huge platform for the new talent and I think everyone should exploit this opportunity.

I speak Telugu, so learning Kannada was not all that tough.

If I get a well-defined role and properly etched scenes, then I feel motivated to perform better.

When I take up a project, I'm not foretold its fate... I don't know whether the film will shape up well or not.

It was a conscious decision on my part to take up fewer films. And if you're not seen that often on screen, nobody calls you to perform at an awards ceremony.

A hero has to become a comedian to do a comic role but a comedian does not have to do anything. People laugh at him anyway. Even when I attend funerals, people look at my face and laugh.

I observe people around me, interact with them and try to understand what's on their minds. I also try and include their little quirky mannerisms in my films.

Comedy is more an art of body language and gestures - it is more a performance of an artist than the lines given to him/her.

Some hidden talent lies within everyone.

I prefer improvising, rather than creating comedy out of thin air.

It is said that a person who makes other people laugh has a lot of pain in his heart. On the contrary, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a comedian and don't nurse such thoughts.

My first show was in Patkar Hall next to Bombay Hospital. It was a total flop. I was so nervous standing in front of all those people that I completely froze. I forgot all my lines and the audience booed me off the stage. I realised that day that you have to earn the audience's appreciation. They aren't fools.

For making a good comedy film, you need a good writer whose craft can be understood through the time that he takes to write his script.

Talent is given by God but you should respect it by doing good work.

I feel very proud as a father when my daughter is being recognised for her talent and hard work.

My poverty taught me a lot. If someone dies, I cannot cry as I have seen so much hardship and death. I went to shoot even the day my dad had died. Death is reality.

I studied only till class VII at the Andhra Society High School, Wadala and dropped out when I realised that education was not my cup of tea.

Often my friends point out that I haven't contributed to a particular film at all, or my comic timing wasn't bang on. I tell them I'm human and bound to make mistakes... I hope I don't repeat those mistakes.

If I'm not comfortable doing something, I'll refuse the role altogether.

I was always taught to do something to have an identity of your own. Forget your mom, dad, brother, sister, regardless of how big they are, you should do things by yourself, even if it means selling clothes or pens on the road.

I am just like any regular person. I am a fun-loving guy, which is reflected in my acting. I love to spend time with my family like any other person.

There's a phase for everyone, where actors need to slow down and reinvent themselves.

In fact, I get angry when people laugh at me. I go to the airport and the ground hostess starts laughing at me when she sees me. I get irritated and ask them if I just did some comedy for them to laugh like that. But then I apologise because I know they must have remembered some movie scene that I did.