Johnny Walker (actor)
| Johnny Walker | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi 11 November 1920 Indore, Central Provinces, British India |
| Died | 29 July 2003 (aged 82) Mumbai |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1951–1997 |
| Spouse(s) | Noorjahan |
Johnny Walker (11 November 1920 – 29 July 2003) is the screen name of an Indian movie comedian, who acted in around 300 movies. He was born as Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi in Indore, British India, the son of a mill worker. His father was made redundant and the family moved to Bombay (now Mumbai). The son took various jobs as the sole breadwinner for the family, eventually becoming a bus conductor with Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).
One of the earliest and best-loved comedians of Indian Cinema, Johnny Walker brought smiles and amusement to all whenever he was on film. Christening himself after the famous Scotch whisky, Walker would drive audiences wild with laughter with his squeaky voice, pencil-thin moustache and his now-classic drunken antics. Everyone, cast, crew and audience alike, loved his iconic image of the hero's comic and often drunk sidekick. Ironically, his drunken image was a stark contrast to his real-life persona, which was that of a sober and humble soul. Johnny Walker was born in the early 1920s to a mill-worker in Indore. Born to a Muslim family he was named Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi at birth. The mill in which his father worked closed and the family, of which Walker was the second of ten children, moved to Maharashtra. There Kazi tried his hand at several jobs, and eventually secured a post as a bus conductor in the B.E.S.T (Bombay Electric Supply and Transport) bus service.Johnny Walker became the sole breadwinner, travelling many miles and at unsocial hours in order at various times to buy and then sell ice candy, fruit, vegetables, stationery and other goods. Throughout his youth he dreamed of being involved in films, idolising Noor Mohammed Charlie and practising stunts that he saw on screen.
Walker took a job with BEST as a bus conductor in Bombay. While thus employed, he continued to nurture his desire to work in films and entertained his passengers with amusing routines, hoping that he would at some point be spotted by someone with connection to the movie industry. His wish came true, although the details are unclear. Balraj Sahni saw him, perhaps on a bus or perhaps while Walker was amusing the cast of Hulchul, a film for which he had obtained a bit part, with an extemporised routine as a drunk. Sahni, who sources say was either at that time writing the script for Baazi (1951) or acting in Hulchul, told Walker to demonstrate his drunkard act to Guru Dutt. From that meeting he gained a role in Baazi. It was Dutt who gave him the name of Johnny Walker, a reference to the brand of Scotch whisky, when he was inspired by Kazi's display in the role of a drunkard.
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