Comedian Raju Srivastava is no more

Popular Bollywood comedian Raju Srivastava passed away. He was under treatment at EMS in Delhi due to heart attack. He breathed his last there on Wednesday (September 21) morning. He was 58 years old.

It is known that Raju suffered a heart attack on August 10. He suddenly started having chest pain while walking on the gym treadmill. He was immediately admitted to the hospital. At first the condition worsened, but later he gradually recovered. However, on September 1, the artist started to deteriorate again. He was then put on ventilation.

Raju Srivastava was the wizard of laughter. When he came on the stage, the audience would smile. He was born on 25 December 1963 in Kanpur. Father Rameshchandra Srivastava was a famous poet of Kanpur. He named his son Satyaprakash Srivastava. But everyone called him Raju.

Raju could imitate people he knew since childhood. He could make people laugh in any way he could. He dreamed of becoming a comedian. His comic art was well appreciated in Kanpur. Many would call for no reason. Raju became quite popular in Kanpur. But his target was Bollywood.

Raju moved to Mumbai due to the pull of Bollywood. He reached the shores of the Arabian Sea in the early eighties. He did not get a chance in the cinema immediately. In 1988, he acted in a small role in the movie ‘Tezab’. He was also in the movie ‘Mayane Pyaar Kiya’. Since then he acted in supporting roles in several movies. But his magic was on stage.

Raju was the runner-up of the show ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’. He got the title ‘The King of Comedy’ in that show. The fame of his humor spread like wildfire. The actor’s character ‘Gajodar Bhaiya’ is very popular.

Raju was also active in politics. First, the Samajwadi Party gave him a ticket to contest the polls. But Raju returned it. The comedian complained that the local leaders were not helping. Later he joined BJP.