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RIP Raju Srivastava: From being an Autowala to being a household name, a glimpse of the comedian’s journey!

Raju Srivastava, an always laughing face who made thousands of people laugh with his comedy skills is sadly no more. After battling for his life for more than a month, the comedian passed away today at AIIMS hospital, Delhi. His demise, no doubt is another big loss to our country and the nation is mourning the death of this precious gem.

Raju first appeared onscreen in the 1994 sitcom ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’ in a cameo role. However, it was the stand-up comedy show ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ from the year 2005 that brought him to popularity. He was runner-up in the show which gave him a direct entry to the show’s spin-off ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge – Champions’. There, he won the title of the ‘King of Comedy.

As a tribute to the comedian, let us have a look at his journey from being an ordinary auto-driver to gaining popularity among the crowd.

Raju Srivastava
Raju Srivastava

Raju Srivastava did mimicry since his school days & was popular for cricket commentary in his locality

Srivastava once revealed his school principal’s support in a conversation with Dr. Vivek Bindra, He said, “When people used to mock me for my mimicry, my principal came as a big support. I was also invited to my mohalla (locality) cricket match to do a commentary. I would speak less on shots by the players, and more about them as I knew all of them personally. And this attracted everyone towards my unique style.”

The comedian is well known for his mimicry of Amitabh Bachchan, but he also told a funny tale where he proposed to a girl through his mimicry. He said that he proposed to her in Shashi Kapoor’s voice, and do you know what happened then? Instead of reading his messages, she got engaged in his mimicry. She even insisted to copy other actors as well.

An auto driver initially, Raju came to Mumbai in the 80s with a dream to become a comedian

Raju is among India’s best stand-up comedians. But achieving this milestone wasn’t that easy, as we say: the road to success comes with difficulties and challenges. After struggling for almost 20 years, his hard work paid him in 2005 when his efforts were noticed in ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge 2005’.

Reports from Zee News suggest that he was an ordinary auto vala when he came to Mumbai. He took this job to support his daily needs till he got cast in movies. The report also revealed that he used to perform in standup comedy shows just for Rs. Ro during his struggling period.

The comedian debuted in movies with the 1988 film, Tezaab. He then secured small roles in Hindi films like Maine Pyar Kiya(1989), Baazigar(1993) and Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya(2001), all of which were super hits.

Since then his good times started and he was continuously in demand as a popular standup comedian. His clean comedy is convenient and all age groups will enjoy it for sure.

He also took part in reality shows like Nach Baliye 6, Bigg boss 6, Comedy Ka Maha Muqabla and many more.

Raju Srivastava in Bigg Boss 6 and Nach Baliye 6

Political Career of Raju Srivastava

The Samajwadi Party sent Raju from Kanpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. However, he returned the ticket as he wasn’t receiving enough support from the local branches of the party. He then joined BJP on 19 March 2014. PM Modi appointed him to participate in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. After this, he began spreading awareness about cleanliness via events in multiple cities. He was also seen in some TV ads and social service message videos for this campaign.

Have a look at one of the ads for the Swacch Bharat Campaign featuring him.

 

Talking about his political mimicry, he is known for imitating Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and also our dearest PM Narendra Modi. These political figures enjoyed his version when he copied all of them.

“Comedy is the hardest genre of all and one who can pull it easily can ace every other category.” Raju Srivastava did a ‘larger-than-life’ job during his work commitments which we can never forget. His demise is indeed a loss for our nation.

May his soul rest in peace… We will miss you, Sir!

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Suryaprakash Singh

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