This is that time in Jamie Lever’s comedy calendar when she’s revising her act, tweaking jokes, adding something and subtracting what doesn’t work. The last-minute changes are on, as the comedienne gears up for The Jamie Lever Show in the city in less than a week. Giving her company in her pursuit is her uncle and mentor, Jimmy Moses. “I spent three months working on the script. My uncle has been with me throughout. As they say, comedy is a serious business,” she begins.

Lever shares she consciously approaches even a dancing reel on Instagram with the same sincerity. “A lot of young girls are looking up to me. I get messages like, ‘Didi, I’m inspired by you. We want to be multifaceted like you.’ So, I want to ace every performance, whether I am with Salman Khan on Bigg Boss or I am making a small reel,” she explains.

Naturally, there are consequences, or compromises as Lever, one of the busiest comediennes in the country, puts it. “I compromise a lot in my personal life. I’ve reached an age where one should have kids. There are these thoughts like ‘I’ve come so far, but I don’t have a lot of things that my friends have.’ But I give priority to comedy,” she says. “The only way I have come this far is because I have the luxury of time and the freedom because I’m single.”

If today her goal is to inspire younger women, the 20-something Lever had a far more personal one. “When I began, my fight was just to prove myself, to prove that I deserve to be here. My dad also said, ‘Tu thodi na paise ke liye kaam kar rahi hai. But if you want to be in this field, you have to prove yourself.’”

She recalls how protective he had been as a father, and how it surprised her that when the time came, he took a step back and let her take the stage. “He was shocked when I shared my wish to be a comedienne. I remember I was in the UK, doing a Masters in Marketing. I had a job. So, he had no idea. I also used to think that I might not get the permission to do it, and that I didn’t have what it takes to be a comic.”

“Since childhood, he has been very protective. He had a lot of rules: no sleepovers or trips, no coming home late. From there, to letting me be in this field and lending me his support the way he did was a big shift. When I decided that I was going to work in this field, my mother was surprised by how my dad’s heart just changed. He let me go out of his protective arms. My mother says that he changed as a human. He told me, ‘I could see some talent in you and I don’t want to be the one to stop that.’” 

Today, of course, the father-daughter duo performs on stage, another anomaly in a society where despite several female star kids, the expectation remains that the male child will continue his father’s legacy. “Growing up I didn’t even have any examples of a comedian’s daughter making it in comedy,” she says. It was around 2012 that Lever began her career, performing at The Comedy Store, Mumbai. She made her television debut on the 2013 season of Comedy Circus, titled Comedy Circus Ke Mahabali.

While her father let her out from under his wings, his surname went with her, and Lever confesses it has brought immense privilege. “When I started my journey, I automatically had a fan following, which I did not have to work for. And that happens with star kids,” she says.

Being her father’s daughter also means easy acceptance from within the industry. Over the last few years, Lever has risen to popularity mimicking several Bollywood celebrities like Farah Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor and the late Asha Bhosle. 

“I get a lot of support from the industry because everybody feels ‘Yeh toh apne Johnny bhai ki beti hai’. In fact, so many people tell me to mimic them. Once, Usha Uthup ji called me, saying, ‘You have mimicked Asha [Bhosle], do me too.’ Javed Akhtar called me to his house and asked me to perform for him and Shabana ji,” she shares. But the comedienne is mindful that impersonations don’t turn into insults. 

“I have always been clear that I can’t disrespect my father’s colleagues or his fans. Just imagine if I were to do below-the-belt comedy, it would be so disturbing for his fans,” she says, adding, “My dad always told me, ‘Don’t take advantage of this privilege’.”

Comedian Jamie Lever recently announced a break from social media, a move that was linked to the backlash she faced over a video mimicking Bigg Boss 19 contestant Tanya Mittal. However, Jamie later clarified through a post that her decision to step away was purely due to personal reasons and her need to spend quality time with her family.

Speaking to us, Jamie said, “This has nothing to do with Tanya Mittal. I don’t know how people connected the two things. In my post, I wrote, ‘I lost a part of me’ because 2025 has been a very busy year. I have just come back from my US tour. I have done films and other projects. I realized I lost time with my family and that’s what I meant by, ‘I lost something this year’. So, it was just me saying I need time. I needed to detox from social media because it can be exhausting to have to deal with messages and expectations of people.”

When asked about the trolling after she mimicked Tanya, she says, “Tanya has not reacted to my video. I have zero communication with her. I think trolling people has become the new thing.”

Jamie, who is known for mimicking several celebs, including Farah Khan Kunder, Asha Bhosle and Kareena Kapoor Khan, admits she was taken aback by the intense backlash. “I didn’t expect this reaction. I have been mimicking people for the past 12 years and mimicry has been going on in our country for so many years. It is an art form and the highest form of flattery, and we don’t have to explain this to people over and over again. When you mimic someone, it is not considered mockery,” she says, adding, “When people say things like, ‘You are body shaming her,’ I want to tell them that when you are mimicking someone, you are obviously going to use the person’s body language. The facial expressions and tonality of the voice require a lot of skill to do that. My point is simple - if you don’t understand mimicry or dislike the video, then don’t watch it.”

So, does she plan to return to social media sometime soon? “Right now I want to spend time with my family. I have relatives that have come home from different cities. I want to enjoy spending time with them like sitting together and having coffee. I am on a social media detox now and I will be back next year, which is anyway just a few days away.”

On stage, she is hilarious and her impersonations are on-point, but there’s so much more to her as a person. Following in her father Johny Lever’s footsteps, Jamie Lever is very aware that she has big shoes to fill. After her recent show in Goa, Jamie spoke to us about her career and doing clean comedy. Excerpts:

At the start of my journey, I never put myself in the category of a female comedian; for me, the fight was just to make my mark as a comedian. It was important that I respectfully find my position, not just be a star kid, who is trying her hand at comedy. True, there are fewer female comics today; it’s not an art form that parents support women to do. It is also a bit hard for society to accept female comics. But now, things are changing and women have become more confident and bolder and are the ones telling the jokes.

We must be very conscious of the fact that when we prepare something, we should not cross the line. I come from the Mr Johny Lever school of comedy, a flag bearer of clean comedy. I grew up knowing that this is the only style of comedy I must do. It is a conscious choice, but it also came naturally. About keeping a balance, yes, it does happen, you might offend somebody. For example, I impersonate a lot of actors, but I will not say anything personal about their character or family. It is all in good humour, and that is why in my case, most of these actors have reached out to me, saying, ‘We really enjoyed our impersonation.’

Roasting is an art form, much appreciated abroad, but not so much in India. Some have attempted roasting in the past, and they have failed miserably. India is not ready for roasting. Roasting happens abroad on a public platform, and many big celebrities are roasted with the who’s who in the audience and they all enjoy it. Yes, it may spark some controversy later, but they are still accepting of that art form. Whereas in India, when you do a roast, there are FIRs and complaints filed, which is understandable because our culture doesn’t allow it. It hurts sentiments, because we are very emotional people, our upbringing, our roots, our conditioning, doesn’t allow that kind of insult and humiliation. So I think comics need to be aware... Especially given the current scenario where episodes have been taken off. So, yes, we have to draw the line somewhere.

When I started working, I didn’t have any of those thoughts. It was my own inner battle, to fight with my insecurities and self-doubts. But yes, when I stepped into the industry, the first thing they said, ‘Oh, you will be compared with your father’ and that’s when it struck me. But I never took that pressure because I will never be able to match up; It’s a fact. A man who’s worked in the industry for over 40 years, and on stage for over 50 years, done over 500 films... how can I ever match up? I had to just be on my own journey.