The thing about funny men is that they are expected to be funny at all times, no matter what their state of mind. Johnny Lever, one of the most iconic comedians in the country, recalls an incident to illustrate this.
He says, “Once I was at the airport, about to take an early morning flight. I saw some TV artist pointing at me while talking to someone else. It was apparent from his gestures that he didn’t have kind things to say. ‘Hero ka chamcha bahar aake khudko hero samajhta hai,’ stuff like that he was saying. I was annoyed but I didn’t react. Later while boarding, he jumps the queue and stands right before me and starts yelling.”
By then Johnny was pushed to the edge but he still controlled the urge to slap him. However, after boarding, an enraged Johnny made up his mind to teach the man a lesson. So did he end up slapping him, we ask “He was sitting in the economy class while I was travelling business. Determined to slap him, I went looking for him. And then I stopped and thought that if I really yell at him or hit him, people would still laugh at me as I am a comedian. I went back to my seat and told myself to let it be.
Then, when we landed at the Hyderabad airport, I was looking for him but couldn’t spot him. I was looking for him because I wanted to shake hands with him and tell him, ‘you are the real comedian. You have made even me angry’.” The legendary funny man signs off saying that the audience will love you and hate you, but you’ve got to enjoy both.
