Jamie Lever: There's favouritism, there's no nepotism

Jamie Lever seems to have inherited all the traits and qualities of her father the legendary Johny Lever She has the comic timing knows how to make a joke land and is a fantastic mimic In an interview with Supriya Nair of middaycom she spoke about spending time in the lockdown and also gave her take on nepotism a muchtalkedabout debateWatch Jamie Levers exclusive interview right hereThe first question on the lockdown and how it has been for her she was quick to answer Its been good overall were safe were indoors Yes the shootings have got cancelled the shows have got cancelled and we dont have work but we all have had a nice time with family We have also got a lot of time to think about ourselves what we are doing how we are working where we can improve ourselves So we really had good quality time to ourselvesShe added Because in Mumbai life is so fast that you dont get any time to stop breathe and take it all in We also got to know each other what bothers us so much what annoys the other person so we got to know about all these things Johnny Lever is one of the most successful and impressionable comedic actors of Hindi Cinema how did that influence JamieShe said I never went for his shootings I havent seen the shootings of 90 per cent of his films never went for his stage shows my brother really liked going for his stage shows but I never went But I was inspired by his conduct the discipline the kind of person he was at home such a perfectionist so hard working and so dedicated to his craft So that was the kind of influence he had on meShe then went on to talk about her mother and how she wanted Jamie to be a doctor My mother came from a very humble family in Andhra she was like My daughter will be a doctor my son will be an engineer and this was the atmosphere she created at home But in my subconsciousness I was always inspired by Mr Bean and Michael Jackson being a stage performer I was in awe And for the longest time I didnt know what my dad was doing It was only later when we saw his movies in the theatres and I realised this was his jobShe continued It was only later I realised how big an artist he is When I went to college that was the time I realised hes the king of comedy The actress also revealed she had bodyweight issues and how she overcame and became what she is today I was overweight at that time I was 80 kilos or more I dont know because I never checked the weighing machine I was extremely overweight obese for my height and I was eating unhealthy food And because I was in London by myself I was stuffing my face with cake in the morning and muffins in the eveningShe added My mother wasnt there to check on me When I came back to India and decided to have a career in comedy my mother asked me if I wanted to be healthy or be in the category of overweight She also said there would be jokes about me You might even have to make jokes about yourself Anyone from the audience making a joke on my weight would have shattered me So I decided to be healthy I started eating right I became more confidentThere have been a lot of debates and discussions on social media about the insiders vs the outsiders in the Hindi film industry and the existence of Nepotism What is her take on that She answers I can talk about my journey being a film child a starkid although I dont like saying that I think when people talk about Nepotism it doesnt apply to all the star kids Not allstar kids are given the privilege Ive had a very different journey Theres favouritism theres no nepotism theres favouritism to a certain lotShe continued Theres favouritism to a friends child theres favouritism to a certain group of people you know My dad has done his job as his job he didnt make it his life He went to work shot for his films and came back home that was his real life His lived his real life which was his family his friends his spirituality We were never a part of any filmy parties we never went we were never a part of any group My dad was never filmy my mother as I said came from a very humble backgroundShe also stated When I decided to come into this field my dad never made any phone calls for me he never said My daughter is coming please launch her I had to pick up the phone I had to make calls I had to go to comedy clubs and ask for auditions I have called casting directors and said Hello my name is Jamie and Im Johnny Levers daughter can I come and audition for you I have mentioned his name cant run away from it When I called him from London to tell him about my plans he asked me Have you thought anything how are you going to do itShe also said He wanted me to figure this out myself because he also figured it out himself I got my first film in 2015 with Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon and then I did tv shows and people used to ask me why I was not doing films I said because I dont get offered And then I did Houseful 4 So I got work because of my work We were never a part of any group Im very proud of my journeyAlso ViewJamie Levers hilarious mimicry of Sonam Kapoor Farah Khan and othersCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news