He grins and suddenly the thin old man in fading colour recedes from vision and there stands Johnny Walker as he used to be. The gentle balladeer of social change on the streetcorner, the happy-go-lucky footpath jokester who kept audiences humming in empathy even as the heroes got on with the more conventional business of Tragedy. "Few people have had as much fun in life as I've had," he chuckles, seated under a jamun tree in his untidy rambling bungalow strewn with the debris of a riotous grandson. Shikaar with Shammi Kapoor-"we went all over Madhya Pradesh with crates of beer and transistors, with express instructions that no one could listen to the news!" Badminton and carrom board tournaments with Guru Dutt—"we respected each other, he made films that appealed to the masses as well as the gentry" ; fishing at Powai lake—"my biggest catch is a 56 pounder, even the Mrs (Noor, sister of actress Shakila) has caught a 50 pounder!"; and cricket, football and hockey matches at the Navketan Studios. "Sports is my greatest love."