Johnny Lever

Lever was born on 14 August 1957 in a Telugu Christian family^[1][6] in Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh.^[2] His father worked as an operator in Hindustan Unilever plant where he also worked as a labourer for six years.^[7] Lever was brought up in King's Circle area of Matunga in Mumbai. His mother tongue is Telugu but he is also fluent in Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, English, Marathi and Tulu.^[8] He is the eldest in the family consisting of three sisters and two brothers (including his younger brother Jimmy Moses).

Lever studied in Andhra education society English high school until the seventh grade as he could not study further because of financial problems in his family.^[9] As a result, he decided to leave school and started working odd jobs, such as selling pens on the streets of Mumbai by mimicking some famous Hindi film stars of that time and dancing to the songs of Hindi film stars. He also spent his early years in Yakutpura, an old city of Hyderabad, where he learnt the unique style of comedy acting.^[10]

During a Hindustan Unilever company function, he mimicked a few senior officers, and from that day on, the workers said he is Johnny Lever. When he later joined the film industry, he decided to use Johnny Lever as his screen name.^[11]

He married Sujatha Lever in 1984 and has two children Jamie and Jessy.^[25] His younger brother, Jimmy Moses, is also a comedian and mimicry artist.^[26] Actress Jamie Lever is his daughter.

Lever is a Christian. When asked about his transition, Lever replied:

It was God's will. I had always been a religious person, but one incident changed my life. My son was diagnosed with throat tumor. I was helpless and turned to God for help. I stopped working in films and spent all my time praying for him. Ten days later, when he was taken for a test, the doctors were surprised because the cancer had vanished. It was the beginning of a new life for me.^{[27] [28]}

• List of Indian comedians
• List of stand-up comedians
• Johny Aala Re