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Post by mrchai501 on Feb 9, 2015 19:16:55 GMT
Does anyone else not find Johnny Lever even slightly funny?
Last night I sat down to watch Baazigar (again) and I've always liked the film but it wasn't until I sat down and watched it again after a few years that I realised how much Johnny Lever & the servants ruin a good film in Baazigar.
Now I understand that Bollywood generally caters for all audiences - sometimes all in one film lol
But theres a part of me that watches some films and he appears and it's almost like I find myself losing interest in the story or just waiting for him to get out of the scene.
Having looked on Wikipedia given the amount of films he's appeared in then clearly I must be in the minority or perhaps his style of comedy isn't as funny when your reliant on subtitles.
I could say the same for Anupam Kher in Darr. Although I have to say I've seen many other films and found AK to act well. I just didn't think the 'cricket comedy dad' was needed in the film and much like JL in Baazigar only takes something away from the film.
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odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Feb 9, 2015 22:22:11 GMT
I've seen a handful of Johnny Lever roles I would call non-annoying and mildly funny: Ashoka, Entertainment, and Housefull 2 are the ones I can think of off-hand. The first two are comparatively restrained by his standards and the third is just him reacting to the increasingly bizarre explanations that are being fed to his and Mithun Chakraborty's characters. I'm told he's done some semi-serious roles that are also good, and in interviews he sounds like a pretty decent guy, FWIW, but he's made zillions of movies and as far as I can tell is completely unwatchable (to western Bollywatchers' tastes at least) in at least 70% of them.
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Post by emily on Feb 10, 2015 0:15:20 GMT
Cut Johnny Lever and his two sidekicks out of "Raja Hindustani" and I would 100% love that film. Can't stand the guy sometimes. That being said, I didn't mind him in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. He just needs a role where he tones. it. down.
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Post by dariya on Feb 10, 2015 1:42:15 GMT
I find him more irritating than anything. DEFINITELY not my cup of tea humor-wise. This might be getting into "Oh no she didn't" territory but I rarely LOL with Bollywood movies. Romantic, feel-good, joyful and even giggle-inducing, yes - but I guess there is something about the Bollywood/Indian humor that I don't get. Exceptions include Delhi Belly and 3 Idiots. *However, South Indian masala movies, and their equivalents of Johnny Levers, actually have been known to make me laugh
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ranranbolly
Guest appearance
Posts: 108
Favorite actor: Ravi Teja
Favorite actress: Deepika Padukone
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Bengal Tiger
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Post by ranranbolly on Feb 10, 2015 5:36:35 GMT
Sometimes I like him. Sometimes he's too much. I think he was alright in Paying Guests, for example...BUT WAY TOO MUCH in Karan Arjun. In fact, that's probably the role I hate of his the most.
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Post by chrisanthi on Feb 14, 2015 12:26:15 GMT
When I first started watching Bollywood I found him irritating and definitely not funny. Basically whenever he would show up I would just bear it. Then I saw Chalte Chalte; I didn't recognise him at first. Not only was it a seious role but his way of speaking and his mannerisms had nothing to do with that irritating guy that I'd seen in other movies. Not only that but his scenes with SRK were poignant (yes, I did say poignant in relation to Johnny Lever). I started thawing towards him. Then I saw him in either Baadshah or 36 Chinatown (I don't remember which of the two it was) and he made me laugh (yes I was shocked). Then I saw Dhoondte Reh Jaoge and I enjoyed his performance. Ever since then, I've had a soft spot for Johnny Lever. That's not to say that I necessarily find him funny, it's more like a beloved, though sometimes irritating, uncle showing up.
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rainsongs
Dancing in the chorus
Putting on too much eyeliner and pretending to be Meena Kumari
Posts: 15
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Post by rainsongs on Feb 20, 2015 0:55:05 GMT
Cut Johnny Lever and his two sidekicks out of "Raja Hindustani" and I would 100% love that film. Can't stand the guy sometimes. That being said, I didn't mind him in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. He just needs a role where he tones. it. down. It's funny, I kinda liked his little romance in Raja Hindustani. Of course, this was after many, many, 90s movies so I had sufficient inoculation by that point. He was pretty enjoyable in Deewana Mastana, too. I think part of it is that I really like 90s movies, and to like 90s movies, you get a lot of Johnny Lever, so I had to start liking him out of self-defense. This does not go for Shakti Kapoor though. I will never like Shakti Kapoor.
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carla
Junior artiste
Posts: 62
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Post by carla on Mar 2, 2015 19:55:35 GMT
I liked Johnny Lever in Raja Hindustani too. My feeling about Johnny Lever is that he is a hugely talented guy who doesn't always get used in ways that take good advantage of his talent. Too much shouting and eye-bugging, too much of the time - it's not a kind of comedy that works well for me, in my time and place and culture. However, when he is allowed to play an actual character, he can be very clever. And there are some things he does exceptionally well - I just recently watched him in Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, where his shtick was impressions. Every time he saw a picture of a star he had a compulsion to talk like that star. He did a broad Rajesh Khanna, a pretty funny Raaj Kumar, a Sanjeev Kumar that actually had me laughing out loud, and a few others I can't recall just now. It turns out that Johnny Lever is pretty good at impressions (I have this feeling I read once that he got his start that way) and the director of this movie I guess just decided to take advantage of that without asking much more of him. It was a pretty good use of him.
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Post by ShantiSal on Mar 3, 2015 7:41:50 GMT
Sometimes I like him. Sometimes he's too much. I think he was alright in Paying Guests, for example...BUT WAY TOO MUCH in Karan Arjun. In fact, that's probably the role I hate of his the most. I didn't mind him too much in Karan Arjun but found him just excruciating in Baazigar.
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