Johnny Lever’s daughter to turn stand-up comedienne

More often than not, star kids follow in the footsteps of their famous parents. Now hopping on to that bandwagon is funnyman Johnny Lever’s 25-year-old daughter, who goes by the name Jamiej.

More often than not, star kids follow in the footsteps of their famous parents. Now hopping on to that bandwagon is funnyman Johnny Lever’s 25-year-old daughter, who goes by the name Jamiej. She will be part of the show Comedy Circus (CC) from mid-July.

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Jamiej tried her hand at production, direction and even marketing before settling for comedy. “I did my Masters in Marketing and worked in London for two years. During my college days in Mumbai, I participated in plays and later in London as well. I did two musicals there and felt that my heart wasn’t in my job. That’s when I spoke to dad. I felt this (comedy) is for me. Every time I went on stage, I felt kicked about performing before a live audience. My dad saw it and said ‘Why are you wasting time? Come to Mumbai’.”

She also did a 10-minute act in Johnny’s stage show. “He was touring in the UK and as a test, gave me a chance. Before I went on stage though, I had to perform in front of him. I was more nervous about that than the audience,” she says. Jamiej heard about the auditions for CC and tried her luck. “I went through the whole process and the makers were encouraging,” she says.

CC had a workshop and a couple of auditions before signing her on. “It’s not like my dad recommended my name,” she says. Jamiej is open to movie offers as well and wants to live up to her father’s legacy.

Producer Vipul Shah is thrilled with the addition as there are few comediennes in India. “Our casting team looks for new talent and this time we had auditions in Mumbai, Lucknow and Amritsar. Stand-up comedy is relatively new in India and few women do it so I was glad to have Jamiej on board. She’s a wonderful talent,” says Vipul. He also loves Jamiej’s Gujarati-British accent the most and feels that will be a hit with viewers.