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V Gangadhar

Badruddin Qazi is more inclined to talk of fruit trees and gardening. In fact, he has successfully nurtured mango, coconut and guava trees in the garden that fronts his house at Oshiwara in suburban Bombay. But he is particularly proud of a couple of olive trees that were growing rather nicely.

But the focus of attention was not on Badruddin Qazi, horticulturist. It was on his alter ego, Johnny Walker, the name synonymous with comedy in Hindi cine history. So much so that people who come face to face with Johnny Walker expect humour, jokes and laughter.

But Johnnysaab's screen persona has never spilled on to real life. He is reserved by nature and, at 71, tends to look at life rather soberly. This outlook was reflected in his white pyjama kurta and demeanour. Though he wore thick glasses and had lost most of the hair on his head, he stood and walked erect.

Johnnysaab's disenchantment with the present-day film industry is quite evident. "But where are the comedians?" he fumed. "If there were genuinely talented comedians, they would have survived; they would have stood out on their own. In my days, I shared honours with all the famous heroes. But I still managed to make an impact."

Yet, Johnnysaab is scrupulously fair. He does not attach blame for the deterioration of comedy to the comedians alone. "The problem," he mused, "is manifold. You can't just say that today's heroes are hogging the lines meant for comedians. First of all, there are no talented comedians today. Further, the industry has few good scripts, what with the obvious shortage of capable writers. And tell me, where are the directors who can exploit good comedians or at least try and create good ones?"

Johnnysaab should know what he's talking about. He had worked frequently with directors of the calibre of Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, B R Chopra, Vijay Anand and Bimal Roy amongst others. "In those days," he recalled, "the director was in total control. We were in awe of him and he extracted the best from us. Today, with dance directors and fight directors and art directors and directors of photography, the director's role is compartmentalised. The stars no longer respect him."

The work ethic, too, was different. If, for example, a set was erected for a shooting schedule of 10 days, Johnnysaab was expected to be present on the sets throughout the duration of the shoot, irrespective of whether he had work or not. "The director would flare up if we asked him when we should be present. We were excused only in case of urgent personal problems. Otherwise, we had to be on the sets, fully made up, at 9 am and stay on till the day's work was done. The only exception to this rule was Dilip Kumar who always arrived, without fail, at 11 am."

I asked him about that exquisite cameo role he played in Hrishikesh Mukherji's Anand, starring Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Johnnysaab played a Gujarati stage producer who is befriended by the dying hero. He had some funny lines but, on learning of the hero's death, mourns that the stage curtains were down forever. This was spoken with such emotion that audiences were moved to tears. "Give the credit to the writer and Hrishida," smiled Johnny saab. "Even I did not know that the scene would be so effective."

A native of Indore, Johnny saab shifted to Bombay when the textile mill his father worked in closed down. Looking after his 15-member family was tough; five of the family died young. Johnny Walker tried his hand at almost everything, including working in the Bombay Electric Supply Transport buses as a conductor. He was posted at the Dadar bus depot but worked on several routes.

A self-confessed film buff, he worshipped comedians like Noor Mohammad and Charlie. Johnnysaab had always wanted to be a comedian; he believed it was his God-given duty to make people laugh. So he spent every free moment at the film studios, trying to hustle any kind of work. In the process, he did his first bit role in the early 1950s and had enacted similar snippets in about 20 films before Guru Dutt spotted him.

Baazi happened and Johnny Walker was born. From that day on, he was a fixture in the Guru Dutt camp. "I had great rapport with Guru Duttsaab," he smiles. "His thinking was clear. He knew exactly what he wanted from the actors and he got it from them. Guru Duttsaab had a flair for comic situations and I fitted in nicely in his scheme of things."

Johnnysaab worked in all-time favourite films like Madhumati, Pyaasa, CID, Naya Daur and Mere Mehboob. He was sought by the best banners and the best directors and was equal to the task of acting with the best of the stars. He was the comedian for whom famous music directors like S D Burman and O P Nayyar tuned some of their most memorable hits. Remember Tael maalish, champee or Yeh hain Bombay meri jaan?

Johnnysaab also played the hero in some dozen films or so. These, of course, had comic themes but were embellished with wonderful music and did well at the box office. "There was no question of stealing scenes or other acts of one-upmanship," smiles Johnnysaab. "The director was always there, and he would promptly bring us back to earth."

The actor also stressed on the fact that good films were the result of team work. "The writer gave me good lines," he pointed out. "Thanks to him, the material was always there and it was left to me, under the supervision of the director, to deliver the goods."

Johnnysaab's comedy was never crude. But, 1970 onwards, comedy began to change. Some of the comedians indulged in lewd gestures and relied on double-entendre. "No," asserted Johnny Walker, "I could never do these things. You see, it is very easy to make people laugh by using vulgarity and double-meaning dialogues. But that is not genuine comedy; that is not the kind of comedy which you enjoy with your entire family."

A Mehmood would lift his dhoti and focus on South Indians to make people laugh. But not Johnny Walker. "I never made fun of a particular community, or people. These are cheap gimmicks. Genuine comedy is much more difficult. You really have to work at it."

As the eighties dawned, the scope for Johnny Walker's brand of comedy lessened. It was then that he decided to quit. After working in more than 300 films, Johnnysaab is enjoying total retirement.

He had accomplished everything. Johnny Walker was the number one comedian during the golden age of Hindi cinema. Even today, when he goes out he is mobbed by admirers. His song sequences in Doordarshan's Chitrahaar or cable television are highly appreciated. "I made enough money. My three daughters were married off, my three sons are well settled."

He sold off his Bandra bungalow and bought the house he now lives in. "What do I need?" he asks rhetorically. "A house, a car, a telephone and financial security. I have all these and I lead a happy, retired life." His youngest son Naseer, who is a successful model, is planning to enter films.

During the mid-eighties, Johnnysaab tried to produce a film but was quickly disillusioned by the attitude of the industry people, particularly the stars. "I was prepared to pay the highest rates," he lamented, "but there was so much hassle over the dates that I gave up in disgust."

Today's show business does not interest him. He finds most of the films and television shows cheap, vulgar and tasteless which is why he does not care to appear in them. "I do not watch much television." In fact, his public appearances are limited to charity shows, both in India and abroad. He does not charge anything for the shows staged in India.

Retirement, though, has its own compensations. Always a sports addict -- he was a successful angler in his youth -- Johnnysaab follows his favourite games like soccer, hockey and billiards, plays with his grandchildren and watched his jamun, guava and olive trees grow.

The man who raised a million laughs can afford to sit back and smile.

Photographs : Courtesy Kamat Foto Flash