Actor-comedian Raju Srivastava died on Wednesday at the age of 58 in Delhi, his family confirmed to Indian Express. Raju’s brother Dipoo said, “He passed away on Wednesday morning. His daughter Antara informed me right now. I’m in Mumbai, leaving for Delhi.” Hospital sources said the comedian passed away at 10:30 am. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, lyricist Manoj Muntashir and actor Nimrat Kaur, among others, paid tributes to Raju.
Raju had suffered a cardiac arrest while working out at a gymnasium in the city last month. He was admitted to AIIMS where he underwent angioplasty. He was said to be critical and on ventilator for over a month. While he showed slight improvement, Raju’s health took a turn for worse earlier this week.
Srivastava’s cousin Ashok Srivastava had earlier confirmed that he had suffered a heart attack while exercising. “He was doing his routine exercise and while he was on the treadmill, he suddenly fell down. He suffered a heart attack and was immediately taken to the AIIMS hospital,” Ashok had told PTI.
Raju Srivastava started his career by appearing in small roles in several films, including Maine Pyar Kiya, Baazigar, Bombay to Goa and Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya. He became a household name after participating in the comedy show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. He later also entered the third season of Bigg Boss.
He was the current chairman of the Film Development Council Uttar Pradesh. Satya Prakash Srivastava (25 December 1963 — 21 September 2022), known professionally as Raju Srivastava and often credited as Gajodhar was an Indian comedian, actor and politician. He ventured into stand-up comedy with the talent show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and finished as second runner-up, subsequently taking part in the spin-off, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge – Champions, in which he won the title of “The King of Comedy”.
Srivastav also participated in Bigg Boss (Hindi season 3), the Indian counterpart of the Big Brother (franchise). After staying in the house for more than two months he was voted out on 4 December 2009. He later participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala.He started his career by doing small roles in Bollywood films. He had a part in the Rajshri Productions movie Maine Pyar Kiya and other small roles in various movies such as Baazigar and Bombay to Goa. He worked as an actor and comedian in the Bollywood movie Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya.
The Samajwadi Party fielded Srivastava from Kanpur for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. But on 11 March 2014, Srivastava returned the ticket, saying he was not getting enough support from the local units of the party. After that, he joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 19 March 2014.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated him to be part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Since then he has been promoting cleanliness through his events in different cities. He has made various music videos for promoting cleanliness. He has also shot various TV commercials and social service message video for Swacha Bharat Abhiyaan.Srivastav married Shikha from Lucknow on 1 July 1993. Together they have two children, Antara and Ayushman.In 2010, Srivastav received threatening calls from Pakistan warning him not to crack jokes on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan during his shows.
Soon after complaining of chest pain, he suffered a heart attack on 10 August 2022 while he was working out in the gym. He underwent an angioplasty and was put on ventilator.Swelling was observed in his brain during his treatment and he was also treated by neurologists.His condition was stated to be critical[20] ever since he suffered the heart attack, and on 21 September 2022, he died during his treatment.