Raju Srivastava, that unsurpassed star of comedy, whose words used to make millions of people laugh. This illuminating lamp of the comic world got extinguished today. Raju, who made everyone laugh, made people cry today. On August 10, while exercising in the gym, Raju suddenly collapsed due to a heart attack. After which he was admitted to Delhi AIIMS. Where he breathed his last today. There is a wave of mourning from Bollywood to his fans due to the death of Raju. Everyone’s heart is sad and eyes are moist.
Raju Srivastava was born on 25 December 1963 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh to a poet. His childhood name was Satyaprakash Srivastava, but after coming to Mumbai, he changed his name to Raju.
Raju Srivastava was fond of making people laugh from the very beginning. In this, Raju Srivastava reached Mumbai in the year 1988 with the dream of making a career. At that time it was not so easy to make a mark in a big city like Mumbai. Raju had to struggle for many years.
Talking about his initial struggle in Mumbai, Raju Srivastava had said in an interview that when he reached Mumbai, at that time people did not consider the comedian as a big artist. At that time the comedy used to start with Johnny Walker and end with Johnny Lever. Due to not getting much work, he was also short of money. He drove an auto to meet the expenses. According to Raju, he used to make people traveling in autos laugh after listening to jokes. In return, they used to get a tip along with the rent.
However, during this time he also used to do stand-up comedy. Being a father’s poet, the art of comedy was ingrained in Raju Srivastava. In such a situation, Raju Srivastava, with the dream of becoming a big comedian, kept on moving forward despite all the troubles.
Raju Srivastava had said in the same interview that in the initial days he used to get 50 rupees for a show. In the days of Struggle, he used to do comedy for 50 rupees by going to the birthday party.
One day there was a big turning point in the life of Raju Srivastava while driving an auto. He got a break for a comedy show. After this Raju Srivastava did not look back. Raju made his special identity from DD National’s famous show ‘Tea Time Manoranjan’ to ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’.
Raju Srivastava got real recognition from ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’. He was also the runner-up of this show. His character of ‘Gajodhar Bhaiya’ became very popular in this show. By including Kanpur and rural environment in his comedy, Raju started ruling the hearts of the people.
The character of ‘Gajodhar Bhaiya’ that Raju mentions in his comedy, is actually a real person. In fact, there is a person named Gajodhar in his maternal grandmother, who used to cut Raju’s hair in his childhood. Seeing him, he composed his character.
After this Raju Srivastava also participated in ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge-Champions’, in which he won the title of ‘The King of Comedy’.
Raju Srivastava started his acting career in Bollywood with the film Tezaab. This film was released in the year 1988. After that he acted in many Bollywood movies like Maine Pyar Kiya, Baazigar, Aamni Athani Kharcha Rupee, Big Brother, Bombay to Goa, etc.
Apart from this, he also worked in TV serials like Shaktimaan, Big Boss, Comedy Ka Maha Muqaaq, Comedy Circus, Comedy Nights with Kapil, The Kapil Sharma Show.
Along with comedy, Raju has also tried his hand in politics. He started politics with Samajwadi Party (SP). In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had fielded him from the Kanpur Lok Sabha seat. However, on 11 March 2014, he returned the ticket and said that he did not get enough support from the local units of the party. After this, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 19 March 2014. He was also the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council.