Who was Raju Srivastava?

Comedian Raju Srivastava died Wednesday in Delhi at the age of 58, ANI reported. The actor was admitted to AIIMS Delhi on August 10 after experiencing chest pain. He had collapsed while working out at the gym.

Raju, who was also a politician, hailed from Uttar Pradesh in India. 

Raju was born on 25th December 1963 in Kanpur, UP, and was given the name of Satya Prakash Srivastava at birth. His father Ramesh Chandra Srivastava was an artist himself- a poet who went by the name of Balai Kaka. Raju, from a very young age, displayed an immense love and verve for mimicry and that triggered his desire to be a comedian early on in life. 

Also read: Upcoming on Koffee With Karan: Sonam Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor

He began his career in the showbiz industry by taking up small roles in various Bollywood films. His first step in Bollywood was taken in 1988 when he played a cameo role in the movie Tezaab. This was followed by another cameo role in the 1989 Rajshri productions movie Maine Pyar Kiya. He also took up roles in movies such as Baazigar and Bombay to Goa.

His rise to fame began when he took his first steps into stand-up comedy. He took part in the talent show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and finished as the second runner-up thanks to his entertaining performances. After this success, he took part in the spin-off The Great Indian Laughter Challenge – Champions, in which he earned the title of “The King of Comedy”.

Also read: Watch: Taapsee Pannu gets into an argument with paparazzi

His success led him to be included in Bigg Boss Season three, where he stayed in the house for more than two months before being voted out on 4 December 2009. In 2010, Srivastava received threatening calls from numbers in Pakistan that warned him of dire consequences if he continued to make jokes about Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan in his shows. 

He has also made appearances on the popular show Comedy Nights With Kapil, and in 2013 Raju participated in Nach Baliye Season 6 along with his wife, Shikha. 

Raju made his entry into Indian politics when the Samajwadi party initially made him the candidate from Kanpur for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, his ticket was withdrawn by the party on 11th March 2014, after he was deemed to have not been getting enough support from the local units of SP. Soon after though, he joined the ruling party Bharatiya Janata party on 19 March 2014. 

Also read: Laal Singh Chaddha’s advance bookings go lower than Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Srivastava one of the faces of the Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, and he has since been promoting cleanliness, hygiene, and civic discipline through various events, TV commercials, and music videos.

Raju Srivastava suffered a cardiac arrest on 9 August 2022 while he was in the middle of a cardio workout session in his gym and he was operated upon in AIIMS.