For Jamie Lever, becoming a comedienne was never part of her dream, and neither did her father Johny Lever, an illustrious comedian and actor, compel her to follow his footsteps. “Women doing comedy was inconceivable during my growing up years. my parents, too, assumed that I would probably pursue fashion as a career,” begins Jamie Lever, a formidable voice in the comedy scene today.
There was a time when the girl, who cracks us up, used to be extremely shy and reticent. “Comedy was not my cup of tea because I didn’t think I would be comfortable in the limelight. While studying and working in London, I hated my job and felt like a misfit there. I attended a few workshops with my theatre-enthusiast friends. There, I ended up doing a lot of comedy without realising that humour came naturally to me. it was then that I realised that I love making people laugh and that it gives me a lot of
joy,” reminisces Jamie, who is all ready to go live on stage with her first solo act, The Jamie Lever Show, which is set to be held in Mumbai on February 17 and 18.
Indulge catches up with Jamie ahead of her big day.
Give us a sneak peek of The Jamie Lever Show.
You are going to see the best of the best Jamie things. everything that people have appreciated on social media — be it my impersonations, my characters in movies, and my singing — is going to be a part of my stand-up act. There will be glimpses of growing up as Johny Lever’s daughter, the comedy that i witnessed and my observations about people through a comic lens. i have been preparing for the show for two months and the team is making sure that it is a paisa vasool for everyone.
How do you feel before you take the stage in front of a live audience?
it’s always nerve-wracking. Stand-up comedy is considered one of the scariest jobs in the world. a comic once told me that every show is like a one-day match. every time you go up on stage, you start from zero. You don’t know how the audience is going to receive your jokes. That’s always going to be a battle. But with experience, you gain some confidence. I always get nervous. But it’s nice because I’m grounded and I work harder.
Stand-up comedy is gaining momentum across the country. Is it still a challenge for women to break through that space?
Stand-up comedy has been there for many years, but because we can easily access it on social media today, we believe that it is picking up. I don’t think it’s a challenge for women anymore. When I started a decade ago, it was one, because people didn’t find women funny. But I think we have been breaking those mindsets and stereotypes. More women should come up and not consider it as an awkward job. Yes, family members still find it hard to accept that their daughter is a comedienne. There is a perception that it’s not a respectable job. But today’s audience has accepted women comedians wholeheartedly.
Among your contemporaries, whose works do you like the most?
On television, the only popular female comic or host is Bharti Singh, who is irreplaceable and unbeatable. In the stand-up scene, I enjoy watching Aditi Mittal, Prashasti Singh and Shreeja Chaturvedi. On social media, Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, and Anisha Dixit are making excellent content.
What keeps you motivated to stay on top of the game?
During the pandemic, I thought it was the end of my career. But the job of an artiste is to make people laugh and entertain them. So, regardless of whether I make money or not, I was going to do it. Money and fame were never my motivation and my dad also helped me understand that clearly.
Does your father share tips when it comes to stand-up shows?
Initially, my dad advised me not to try to be someone else. If you are watching stand-up comedians, it’s easy to just adopt their style, and budding comedians tend to do that. My dad advised me to find my USP and make sure that I am the best at that. Today, I’m glad that people know me for my work — they know I can sing, dance, act, and mimic, and I try to use all these skills in my comedy. My dad never stops being a student and I admire that. He’s also learning from young stand-up comics. He watches them on social media and goes, ‘Wow! I need to have a unique point of view like that.'
How much has humour evolved since your father’s times?
I think people back then were a little less tolerant and more sensitive. Now, people are more open-minded, sharper, and have an evolved sense of humour. Sometimes I scroll through comments on my social media account and get blown away because they are really funny. I feel everyone has improved their comic timing. So, as comics, we need to get that much faster, better, honest, brutal, wacky and out of the box.
How have you evolved as an artiste?
Over the years, I have trained myself hard and learned a lot from my experiences, and acting jobs. I started off doing stand-up in small clubs. Comedy Circus gave me the experience of doing live comedy on camera. Acting in movies taught me comic timing on the screen. Being a host of red carpet events taught me to be spontaneous, and confident, be on my toes, and interact with people. Then I took to social media and it taught me to quickly grab audience attention.
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What’s your biggest fear as a comedienne and how do you overcome it?
I’ll get hooted, people will not laugh or I will blank out. That is an everyday struggle but it’s important to believe in yourself and remember who you are and that you have done this before. I do a lot of power postures before I take the stage.
When it comes to low phases, how do you keep your chin up?
I’m an emotional person and there are lots of low phases. There are times when you doubt yourself, feel lonely, have self-pity, believe that you are not heard, or feel the negativity coming. What I end up doing is making content. At my lowest point, I put on the camera and say something funny. The comments, likes or views I get from that motivates me to keep going because I know there’s an audience out there who loves me.
Tell us about the camaraderie you share with your brother Jesse Lever and how different your styles
are from each other?
We look identical, are musically prone, and have excellent comic timing. I think he is funnier than me. But when it came to choosing career paths, he consciously decided to stay away from comedy and made fitness his best friend.
One lesson you have learned from your father that you stand by.
Always remain humble, be a student, and never feel like you have made it.
What would be your spring/ summer fashion wardrobe essentials?
I love linens and linen shirts, white cotton shirts, and flowy dresses.
Your film Crakk is gearing up for release…
Crakk releases on February 23 and I play a bookie in the sports-action drama. I was blown away by the action sequences.
Your Telugu debut Aa Okkati Adakku is also on the charts…
It releases this summer. I’m excited about the film as it’s in my mother tongue. It has been my life-long dream to make at least one film in my mother tongue and dedicate it to my grandmother, who speaks Telugu and doesn’t understand Hindi well. I play the sister-in-law to the hero. There were times when it was a challenge to learn big dialogues and deliver them effortlessly. But the whole team helped me.