THE BEST EVER : JOHNNY WALKER

 THE BEST EVER : JOHNNY WALKER

WRITTEN BY:  RAJESH V. GAUR and  SUNEEL V. GAUR

EMAIL: sunrise607@rediffmail.com
                                                 
                                                       

 Johnny Walker cast a magic spell among the masses with his simple, innocent, unadulterated humor, providing comic relief in tense situations in the movies of 50s and 60s. Badruddin Kazi aka Johnny Walker who started his career as an ordinary bus conductor in BEST buses of Mumbai. He regaled passengers with his antics and fortune smiled upon him one day when he had actor Balraj Sahani as his passenger. Balraj was scripting dialogues for the film Baazi whose director was Guru Dutt. Inspired by Johnny's antics Balraj took him to Guru Dutt and asked Johnny Walker to introduce himself. Johnny Walker hit upon a brain wave and entered the cabin of Guru Dutt with an unsteady gait of a drunk, mouthing profanity. An irate Guru Dutt called upon the Unit people to throw him out of the sets. But then Balraj Sahani intervened and the rest is history. Guru Dutt rechristened Badruddin Kazi as Johnny Walker after the famous Scotch brand as he was very impressed with his act of a drunk.

Thus Johnny Walker became an integral part of many a Guru Dutt movies like Aar Paar, Mr and Mrs 55, CID, Pyaasa, Kagaz Ki Phool, Chaudvin Ka Chand, Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam, etc. His impeccable diction,blended with wonderful performances became a mesmerizing combination which the audience lapped up with great excitement. His excellent sense of timing in delivering dialogues helped him give standout performances. Renowned film-makers, sought him out and characters were especially written for him.He bought his own class act in films like Baat Ek Raat Ki, Naya Daur, Duniya, Madhumati, Devdas, Aarop, etc.

Audiences clamoured to see more of him. C.I.D's Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan is still the anthem for the Mumbaites. And who could forget the timeless Sar Jo Tera Chakraye in Guru Dutt's classic Pyaasa? His squeaky voice, wafer-thin moustache and devastating wit added a different dimension to this funny man.

After a long successful innings, Johnny took a break from Bollywood. But he pleasantly surprised his fans when he returned to it for one last time in Chachi 420 [1997].
In a place like Bollywood, where morals and morality are buried deep under and the power of money overrides principles and ideals, people like Johnny Walker stood like a solid rock. They made people laugh but they never made themselves a laughing stock.

WRITTEN BY: RAJESH V. GAUR  and SUNEEL V. GAUR