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IMDbPro

Johnny Walker(1926-2003)

  • Actor
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Johnny Walker
Mangal drives a taxi by day, then drinks at night, listens to his singer girlfriend Sylvie and then goes into a drunken stupor - and wakes up with a hangover. One day, while assisting another taxi driver, Mangal comes to the assistance of a damsel in distress who is being molested by two thugs. Mangal gallants rescues her and attempts to take her to her destination, to no avail, as the person she is looking for has moved. The next day, Mangal and the young woman, Mala, again attempt to seek Ratanlal, a music director, but the entire day is spent in vain. Mala lives in Mangal's tiny apartment and both become attracted to each other. When Mala finds out about Sylvie, she leaves him. He goes in her search, but finds that she has become a famous singer with the help of her music director friend. Will Mangal ever get a chance to tell about his love for Mala? What will Sylvie's reaction be?
Play trailer1:36
Taxi Driver (1954)
1 Video
11 Photos
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, who would cause comedy to occur in the film. Ironically, his drunken image was a stark contrast to his real-life persona, which was that of a sober and humble soul

He was born Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi on May 15, 1923. The son of a textile mill worker, he did not find life easy; he was one of a family of fifteen members, out of which five relatives died young, and the mill where his father worked closed down, causing the family to come to Bombay. 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.

Kazi would often be seen working on the Dadar bus depot. Sometimes he would entertain his passengers with antics that would send them into splits of laughter, and he had an uncanny ability for inventing such routines on the spot. This knack got him spotted by actor/writer Balraj Sahni, who was writing Gamble (1951) for Guru Dutt at the time. Sahni introduced Kazi to Dutt, who was so impressed by Kazi's performance as a drunk that he immediately wrote a role for him into his directorial film Gamble (1951).

His performance in Gamble (1951) was so well received that Walker and Dutt would later on work together in films. Dutt cast him in some of his own memorable films; some of Walker's most loved roles are Master the pickpocket in C.I.D. (1956) and the masseur Abdul Sattar in Thirst (1957). Walker always had the best comic lines and the most popular and hummable tunes in Dutt's films. Dutt and Walker were also the best of friends and often went out on expeditions together, and on Dutt's suicide Walker was deeply shocked and grieved by the loss of his friend.

His popularity reached such heights that he got his own film, Johnny Walker (1957)! He was also hired by other directors to act in their own films, the most notable of these being B.R. Chopra's Naya Daur (1957), Bimal Roy's Madhumati (1958) (the latter for which he won his first Filmfare Award), and K. Asif's Mughal-E-Azam (1960). Despite his fame, he was a humble soul and kept a low profile

He slowly began to fade out in the 1960s, as Mehmood took over as the new king of comedy. He kept working in films, though, most notably in Shikar (1968), for which he won his second and final Filmfare Award; and in Anand (1971), where he was unusually seen in a serious role and even more unusually excelled in it, showing the remarkable talent he still held.

His last role was as a make-up artist in Kamal Haasan's Chachi 420 (1997). He was, naturally, seen with a bottle of alcohol! It was a fitting curtain call for Bollywood's original king of comedy...
BornNovember 11, 1926
DiedJuly 29, 2003(76)
BornNovember 11, 1926
DiedJuly 29, 2003(76)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 2 wins & 3 nominations

Photos11

Vyjayanthimala and Johnny Walker in Devdas (1955)
Kamal Haasan and Johnny Walker in Chachi 420 (1997)
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Waheeda Rehman and Johnny Walker in Thirst (1957)
Mehmood and Johnny Walker in Kala Aadmi (1960)
Johnny Walker in Johnny Walker (1957)
Shyama and Johnny Walker in Johnny Walker (1957)
Nisar Ahmad Ansari, Pradeep Kumar, and Johnny Walker in Wahan Ke Log (1967)
Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Pran Sikand, and Johnny Walker in Chori Chori (1956)

Known for

Anand (1971)
Anand
8.1
  • Issabhai Suratwala
  • Muralilal #3
  • 1971
Madhumati (1958)
Madhumati
7.8
  • Charandas(as Johny Walker)
  • 1958
Dharmendra and Asha Parekh in Shikar (1968)
Shikar
6.5
  • Teju
  • 1968
C.I.D. (1956)
C.I.D.
7.1
  • Master
  • 1956

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Tabu and Kamal Haasan in Chachi 420 (1997)
    Chachi 420
    • Joseph (as Johny Walker)
    • 1997
  • Sapnon Ka Mandir (1991)
    Sapnon Ka Mandir
    • 1991
  • The Perfect Murder (1988)
    The Perfect Murder
    • Jain
    • 1988
  • Nana Patekar, Mithun Chakraborty, Rakhee Gulzar, Padmini Kolhapure, and Shatrughan Sinha in Sagar Sangam (1988)
    Sagar Sangam
    • Insp. Shamsher Singh
    • 1988
  • Dharmendra, Moushumi Chatterjee, and Asit Kumar Sen in Mera Karam Mera Dharam (1987)
    Mera Karam Mera Dharam
    • Tarak Naath
    • 1987
  • Hum Dono (1985)
    Hum Dono
    • Michael (as Johny Walker)
    • 1985
  • Meraa Dost Meraa Dushman (1984)
    Meraa Dost Meraa Dushman
    • Mulayam Singh
    • 1984
  • Bindiya Chamkegi (1984)
    Bindiya Chamkegi
    • Rahim
    • 1984
  • Rishta Kagaz Ka (1983)
    Rishta Kagaz Ka
    • Hanibhai
    • 1983
  • Mazdoor (1983)
    Mazdoor
    • Govinda
    • 1983
  • Madine Ki Galian (1981)
    Madine Ki Galian
    • 1981
  • Jaaye To Jaaye Kahan (1980)
    Jaaye To Jaaye Kahan
    • 1980
  • Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Parveen Babi, Bindiya Goswami, Rakhee Gulzar, and Shatrughan Sinha in Shaan (1980)
    Shaan
    • Renu's Chacha
    • 1980
  • Miya Fuski 007
    • 1978
  • Nawab Sahib
    • Hameed
    • 1978

Director

  • Pahunchey Huwe Log (1986)
    Pahunchey Huwe Log
    • Director
    • 1986

Videos1

Taxi Driver (1954) Trailer
Trailer 1:36
Taxi Driver (1954) Trailer

Personal details

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  • Alternative names
    • Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi
  • Born
    • November 11, 1926
    • Indore, Indore State, Central India Agency, British India
  • Died
    • July 29, 2003
    • Mumbai, Maharashtra, India(undisclosed)
  • Children
      Nasir Khan

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Guru Dutt would often rewrite his film's scripts to create a role for Walker.
  • Quotes
    About his relationship with Guru Dutt: He used to tell me - Here's your scene, your dialogue. If you can do better, go ahead. In every rehearsal I would come up with something new. Guru Dutt used to love that. He used to look at everyone on the sets and see if the light boys, the cameraman, the assistants were laughing at my dialogues. Guru Dutt then had an assistant to write down whatever I said in the rehearsals. That's how we worked.

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