Johnny Lever's Birthday: Anything is possible with the power of prayer

It is the story of the journey of a boy whose family came from a village in Andhra Pradesh and settled in the slums of Dharavi area of ​​Mumbai. His father found a job as a casual laborer in a famous company 'Hindustan Lever'. The boy whose name was John Prakash Rao Janumala and who was brought up as a Roman Catholic had no interest in studying and started selling pens, pencils, and other small toys on the pavements in places like Dharavi, Sion, and King's Circle and soon became popular in these places as he started imitating some of the most popular Hindi film stars. The family soon shifted to Antop Hill which was known for its underworld and violent activities but the boy kept growing as a comedian. Later he joined his father in his office Hindustan Lever and won the hearts of all his fellow workers with his mimicry. And that was the moment they named him Johnny Lever and there was no looking back for him.

He started performing outside the LIC building at Nariman Point and other popular points in the Churchgate area. He was once spotted by well-known actress and TV actress Tabassum who introduced him to music directors Kalyanji-Anand Sharma who took him to their show that was the beginning of show business for Johnny Lever and he became known as a "must item" in many big shows performed all over the world.

He made his debut in films with a film called "Jalwa" starring Naseeruddin Shah and soon Johnny Lever became a must-see in all kinds of movies from Dharavi and Antop Hill, he shifted to the posh area of ​​Lokhandwala where he and his family took a long time to adjust in an expensive building called Oxford Towers where Juhi Chawla was his neighbor.

Everything was going great for them until a lump was discovered in their son's throat which was suspected to be cancer, but Johnny who believed in the power of prayer, got down on his knees and prayed for three days and three nights and when he took his son to the doctor again, they found no lump. From that day on Johnny Lever became a believer in prayer and all his prayers were to Jesus Christ who he says is the only God who listens to the prayers of rich and poor men without any discrimination. These days he holds prayer meetings every Sunday in the drawing room of his house which is for people of all castes and all communities. There is a common belief that Johnny works miracles, but when asked he says, “Who am I to do miracles? I just pray to Jesus with all my heart, soul, and mind and believe that He can do me the favor that I ask for and though He has never let me down even once, how can I not trust Him and thank Him for all He does for me and most of all others who come to me with so much faith.”

A few years ago, Johnny was shooting in a foreign location for a film being made by Rakesh Roshan with his son, Hrithik Roshan. The unit was busy shooting and Johnny noticed that Rakesh was looking very tense. He went up to him and asked him what the matter was. Rakesh did not keep his discomfort a secret. He told Johnny about some kind of lump found in Hrithik's neck. Johnny was silent for a moment and then asked Rakesh if he could pray for Hrithik and the desperate father could not help but say yes to it. Johnny closed his eyes and prayed for 10 minutes and then asked Rakesh to get Hrithik examined. The examination revealed that Hrithik was free from all fears and there was no sign of any suspicious lump in his body.

I personally don’t have to believe in the stories told by others to know about miracles or to call them miracles, if you want, to know about Johnny’s prayers that make things possible. So this is one of my personal favourite stories which is an experience with Johnny. On repeating this story, I must say, that I still find it hard to believe. I once asked Johnny if he would visit my favorite hospital, The Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri East to give a good time to the patients, nuns and nurses as his visit could bring joy and laughter to all of them. He readily agreed. He got into his expensive and luxurious car ‘Duster’ and said, “Let’s go Ali bhai” I was already feeling excited and very happy for the hospital and its people.

We reached the hospital and I kept this a secret even from Sneha who was the managing director of the hospital. But Johnny Lever could charm even the tiniest of kids and he expressed his desire to approach everyone, even the patients who were trying to get up from their beds to get a glimpse of the man who brought laughter to the faces of people who were crying and wailing. Sneha led him and because of her I was taken to the parlor where the nuns were meeting him for an important meeting and he was feeling uncomfortable. The meeting started with prayers and Johnny was comfortable again. Sneha told Johnny how happy they all were that he was in the hospital.

Johnny had a great feeling all around and he closed his eyes and got up from his chair with a jerk and put both his hands up and closed his eyes again and we all looked at him in awe. And before putting his hands down, he simply said, “I donate 10 lakhs to the cancer centre of the hospital.” He didn’t say a word more and the nuns looked at him as if he was telling one of his jokes, but he was serious. The nuns were happy that Johnny Lever came and made that evening memorable. Neither the nuns nor I spoke a word about Johnny’s announcement, which was actually 10 lakhs in a week. On the eighth day, I got a call from Johnny bhai. And he said, “Hey brother, where is it, have you forgotten me, okay forget me, but what crime did that cheque commit, the cheque of Rs 10 lakhs has been lying on my table for three days, if it doesn’t bother you much then take that cheque brother” I had a bundle of emotions in my mind at that moment, but I first went to Oxford Towers and when I saw the cheque, I believed that it was nothing but a miracle, but Johnny said that it was only the power of my prayers.

Johnny must have performed thousands of such miracles through his powerful prayers. He is one of the biggest followers of Jesus but he ensures that a major portion of the money he earns goes for the welfare of the poor and needy. And the more he gives, the more he gains in a show, a field in which he has broken all records and set new trends even though hundreds of mimicry artists have tried to imitate him and failed miserably and one of them Yogi Adityanath who even ended up as a minister in the cabinet because of it.

Whereas Johnny Bhai still maintains that dark and dirty room in Dharavi, because he says, “It is all a game of fate and destiny here, big people are trapped in it, so what am I, tomorrow if fate punishes me for my sins, then I am ready to accept it. This is what my Jesus has taught me.”

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