5 Best Comedy Scenes of Johnny Lever, From Baazigar to Golmaal

The best comedy scenes of Johnny Lever include Babulal’s forgetful antics in Baazigar, Hiralal’s wedding night in Judaai, Chhota Chhatri in a dark hotel room in Awara Paagal Deewana, Appu Khote’s cracker mix-up in Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya and Pappi Bhai’s memory lapses in Golmaal 3. These scenes still go viral as memes.

Johnny Lever, born John Prakash Rao Janumala on 14 August 1957, has been making Hindi film audiences laugh for over four decades. He has 13 Filmfare nominations for Best Comic Role and won for Deewana Mastana and Dulhe Raja. We have updated this list for 2026 and added three more roles fans love.

Quick facts: Johnny Lever

5 best comedy scenes of Johnny Lever

1. Babulal in Baazigar (1993)

In Abbas-Mustan’s thriller Baazigar, Johnny Lever plays Babulal, the head servant at the Chopra house. Babulal forgets everything, and his scenes are a welcome break from the film’s dark story.

The best known bit has him making tea for guests and forgetting the tea leaves, then serving it with full confidence. His blank expressions and mumbled lines made Babulal one of the most quoted servants in Hindi cinema.

2. Hiralal in Judaai (1997)

In Judaai, starring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Urmila Matondkar, Johnny Lever plays Hiralal. On his wedding night, he finds out that his bride, played by Upasana Singh, only speaks one nonsense phrase: “Abba dabba jabba.”

Hiralal’s shocked face and failed attempts to talk to her turned the scene into a cult favourite. “Abba dabba jabba” is still used as a meme.

3. Chhota Chhatri in Awara Paagal Deewana (2002)

In Vikram Bhatt’s comedy, Johnny Lever plays Chhota Chhatri, a stammering gangster. In one famous scene, Manilal Patel (Paresh Rawal) and his son-in-law Dr Anmol (Aftab Shivdasani) walk into a dark hotel room in America and find Chhatri waiting there.

His stammer, the darkness and Paresh Rawal’s panic make the scene work. With Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal in the cast, Lever still stands out.

4. Appu Khote in Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya (2001)

In this K. Raghavendra Rao family comedy, Johnny Lever plays Appu Khote, one of three neighbouring husbands. Appu is married to Vimla (Ketki Dave) and has four children, and he loves to show off.

In the best scene, Appu mistakes a firecracker for a cigarette while bragging. The result is chaos, and Lever’s reaction is pure slapstick gold.

5. Pappi Bhai in Golmaal 3 (2010)

In Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal 3, Johnny Lever plays Pappi Bhai, a small-time crook who has stolen a queen’s jewel. The joke is that Pappi keeps forgetting things mid-sentence, especially while telling the story of the theft.

His gang gets more frustrated every time he loses the thread. Pappi Bhai’s rambling flashback is one of the most rewatched clips from the Golmaal series.

3 more Johnny Lever roles fans love

Bankhey in Dulhe Raja (1998)

Johnny Lever plays Bankhey, the hotel manager caught between Govinda and Kader Khan’s feud. The role won him a Filmfare Award for Best Comic Role.

Deewana Mastana (1997)

In David Dhawan’s comedy with Anil Kapoor, Govinda and Juhi Chawla, Lever’s turn earned him his first Filmfare win for Best Comic Role.

Col. Almeida in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)

Lever plays Col. Almeida, the camp manager at the summer camp in the second half of Karan Johar’s film. His short scenes add easy laughs to the romance.

Why Johnny Lever’s comedy still works

Johnny Lever rarely needs a big joke on paper. His timing, voice changes and face do the work, which is why even a two-minute role in a serious film like Baazigar is remembered decades later.

He also plays well off big stars. Govinda, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn have all shared scenes with him where he gets the bigger laugh. His characters are usually ordinary men in a mess, like a forgetful servant or a show-off neighbour, so audiences across age groups relate to them.

Many of his best scenes now live on as short clips and memes on Instagram and YouTube, which has introduced him to a new, younger audience.

Johnny Lever in 2026

Lever started as a stage mimicry artist in Mumbai and worked at Hindustan Lever, which is how he got his screen name. He is still busy in his late sixties. He played Batuk Patel in Housefull 5 (2025), appeared as Godbole in Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai (2026) and has completed Welcome to the Jungle.

His daughter Jamie Lever is also an actor and stand-up comic known for her impressions. For more on Hindi film stars, see our Bollywood section, celebs and other listicles.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Wikipedia: Johnny Lever, Wikipedia: Awara Paagal Deewana, Wikipedia: Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya.