MUMBAI, March 16: Stand-up comic Jamie Lever says she feels a certain responsibility towards taking her father, veteran star and comedian Johny Lever’s legacy of “clean comedy” forward.
Jamie, also an actor, is currently seen in the short film “2050 Care with Love” which is available on YouTube. It also features veteran actor Sulabha Arya.
When she came into the film industry, Jamie said she not only inherited her father’s goodwill but also his fans.
“My father is known for doing clean comedy for the past 40 years and today’s generation also says that this person made us laugh without saying any vulgar things or cuss words.”
“So, I have a different responsibility. When I came into the industry, his fans were also passed on to me.”
“Then, I had my own fan following too, so I had the responsibility of maintaining that style of comedy. There was no pressure, it was a choice that I made to continue doing that style of comedy, which is clean, because I wanted entire families to watch it (my comedy) together,” the comic-actor told PTI in an interview.
Jamie, also a social media sensation known for her excellent impersonations of celebrities like Asha Bhosle, Farah Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Javed Akhtar, said she doesn’t want to upset anybody with her comedy.
“… I don’t want to offend anybody, because comedy is such a positive thing. You are bringing laughs, spreading joy. It is also a very spiritual thing for me, so I don’t want to pollute that with anything else, so that is my personal reason for doing clean comedy,” she added.
The 37-year-old said society has warmed up to female comics over the years.
“We are in a much better place now than 10 years ago, when I started. I never thought of myself as a female comic, I just thought of myself as a comic and I wanted to compete with other comics and I wanted to make my own place in the industry,” she said. (PTI)