Mumbai: Popular veteran comedian, Johnny Lever, slammed the new-age comedians for cracking vulgar and crass jokes to gain popularity.
The veteran blamed it on Hollywood where use of foul language is common.
Taking a firm stand against the rising trend of vulgarity in stand-up comedy and films, Johnny, in a candid interview with actress Kunickaa Sadanand on her YouTube channel, said, “People are freely abusing today because of Hollywood films. In the West, it’s common to use foul language and make crass jokes, and now our actors and comedians are copying that. They’ve developed a habit. They only watch English films now.”
To this, Kunickaa noted, “A lot of them don’t even know Hindi properly anymore.”
Having acted in over 300 films, Johnny believes that the unfiltered comedy style has been adopted from the west.
“They pick up exact things from Hollywood, thinking, ‘Chal jayega, kya farq padta hai.’ That’s how double meaning jokes have become so common,” he said.
He continued, “Most of today’s stand-up content is full of double meanings. But when we were trained in the craft, we were taught never to take that route. If we start doing the same, these new guys won’t even be able to stand before us. But we never chose that path.”
Challenging the new age comedians to make people laugh with clean comedy, he said, “If they are really talented, I challenge them—say something clean and still make people laugh. That is the real test. I’m not saying they’re bad, people are enjoying their content. But I have a family audience. I have to be answerable to that.”
Further, taking pride in the fact that his daughter, Jamie Lever, upholds the same values, the veteran said, “She does solo shows too and doesn’t rely on vulgarity.
Johnny was recently seen in ‘Housefull 5’, which drew criticism for crass humour.