Raju Srivastav

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Satya Prakash Srivastav (25 December 1963 – 21 September 2022), known professionally as Raju Srivastav and often credited as Gajodhar, was an Indian comedian, actor and politician.[1] He was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and moved to Mumbai in the 1980s to work in the Hindi film industry. He acted in Baazigar, Bombay to Goa, Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya among others. He contested in the comedy show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and became the runner-up. He won the title of "The King of Comedy" in its spin-off show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge – Champions. He did many stand-up comedy live shows.

Raju Srivastav
Srivastav during an event in 2012
Birth nameSatyaprakash Srivastav
Born(1963-12-25)25 December 1963
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died21 September 2022(2022-09-21) (aged 58)
New Delhi, India
GenresObservational comedy
Spouse
Shikha Srivastav
(m. 1993)
Children2
Relative(s)Nephew Kushal Srivastava
Notable works and rolesStandup comedy on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge

He had been a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014.

Early life edit

He was born in 1963 in Kanpur city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in a Kayastha family.[2] His father Ramesh Srivastav was a poet. In his childhood, Srivastav liked to mimic film stars including Amitabh Bachchan.[3]

Career edit

In 1980s he moved to Mumbai, and started his career by doing small roles in Bollywood films.[3] He had a part in the Rajshri Productions movie Maine Pyar Kiya[4] and other small roles in various movies such as Baazigar and Bombay to Goa.[1] He worked as an actor and comedian in the Bollywood movie Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya.[5]

In 2005, he ventured into stand-up comedy with the talent show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and finished as second runner-up. Then he took part in its spin-off, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge – Champions, and won the title of "The King of Comedy".[6] He became famous because of this show.[3][1] By 2009, he had done more than 2,800 live shows.[1]

In 2009, in an interview, he said the vulgarity in comedy shows was a concern for him. He believed that comedians should practice self-regulation.[1] Srivastav participated in Bigg Boss (Hindi season 3), the Indian counterpart of the Big Brother. After staying in the house for more than two months he was voted out on 4 December 2009.[7] In 2010, Srivastav received threatening calls from Pakistan warning him not to crack jokes on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan during his shows.[8]

In 2013, Raju along with his wife participated in Nach Baliye season 6, which is a couples dance show on StarPlus. He has also appeared on Comedy Nights with Kapil.[9]

In 2016, he appeared in Mazaak Mazaak Mein, a Hindi reality television talent competition.[10]

In 2019 participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala.[11]

Political career edit

The Samajwadi Party (SP) fielded Srivastava from Kanpur Lok Sabha constituency for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.[12] But on 11 March 2014, Srivastav returned the ticket, saying he was not getting enough support from the local units of the party. SP was expecting him to quit as the contest in the seat had become important.[13] SP withdrew his candidature from Kanpur after he quit.[14]

Within days of leaving SP, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 19 March 2014.[15] BJP did not give him the ticket for Lok Sabha 2014. He campaigned in support of BJP candidates in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.[16] In 2014, he was appointed by the BJP led Union government as the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and had recorded advertisements for the campaign.[17][10] In 2018, Srivastav disclosed on social media that he would get the chance to contest in the 2019 Indian general election as BJP candidate for Lok Sabha, although that did not materialize.[18]

In March 2019, he was appointed by the BJP-led Government of Uttar Pradesh as the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council.[16]

Reception edit

Widely described as the "king of comedy",[19][20] his looks were also noted for having resembled Amitabh Bachchan.[21][22]

In January 2021, Raju Srivastav released a small video clip on social media criticizing the creators and actors of the web series Tandav for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments by insulting Hindu religion and Hindu deities. In response, filmmaker Vinod Kapri and others shared several videos of Srivastav's comedy shows where he had used Hindu deities and the Indian holy epic Ramayana in his comedy sketches. Kapri said that Srivastav had mocked the Hindu god Brahma and had joked about Brahma meeting actress Madhuri Dixit and his white beard turning red.[18][23]

Following Shrivastav's death, comedian Sunil Pal praised Shrivastav and added that "He would help juniors find gigs. He would also help his juniors financially, made sure they are paid on time and paid well. He brought in a lot of good changes in the comedy circle".[24] Comedian Bharti Singh said that Shrivastav's death is "a great loss for the entire country".[25]

Personal life edit

Srivastav married Shikha from Lucknow on 1 July 1993. They had two children, a boy and a girl.[26]

Death edit

On 10 August 2022, while running on the treadmill in the gym, Raju Srivastav complained of chest pain and suffered a cardiac arrest.[27][28] He underwent an angioplasty and was put on ventilator.[29] Swelling was observed in his brain during his treatment and he was also treated by neurologists.[30] His condition was stated to be critical[31] ever since he suffered the heart attack. On the morning of 21 September 2022, he died during his treatment in Delhi.[32]

The post mortem was done using the method of virtual autopsy.[28] His last rites were conducted in Delhi.[33]

Prolific figures including Narendra Modi, Yogi Adityanath, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Vivek Agnihotri, Rajpal Yadav and others expressed their condolences over Shrivastav's death.[34][35]

Filmography edit

Films edit

Year Title Role Ref
1988 Tezaab [36]
1989 Maine Pyaar Kiya Truck Cleaner [36]
1993 Baazigar College Student [3]
Mr. Azaad [1]
2001 Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa Baba Chin Chin Choo [5]
2002 Waah! Tera Kya Kehna Banne Khan's assistant [36]
2003 Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon Shambhu, Sanjana's servant [36]
2007 Big Brother Autorickshaw Driver & Rizwan Ahmed [36]
Bombay to Goa Anthony Gonsalves [36]
2010 Bhavnaon ko Samjho Daya from Gaya [1]
2017 Toilet: Ek Prem Katha [3]
2023 Kanjoos Makhichoos Yadav, MLA's PA [37]

TV series edit

Year Series Role Ref
1994 Dekh Bhai Dekh Cameo [38]
1998–2005 Shaktimaan Dhurandhar Singh [38]
2005 The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Contestant [3]
2009 Bigg Boss Contestant [39]
2007–2014 Comedy Circus Various characters [40]
2008–2009 Raju Hazir Ho Himself [41][40]
2011 Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala Contestant [10]
2013–2014 Nach Baliye Contestant [42]
2013–2016 Comedy Nights with Kapil Various characters [43]
2014 Gangs of Haseepur Host [44]
2016–2017 The Kapil Sharma Show Various characters [45]
2016 Mazaak Mazaak Mein Himself [10]
2022 Hostel Daze Chai Tapri Wala/Narrator [46]

References edit

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  2. ^ Satish Chand Shukla (17 July 2021). "कायस्‍थों को एक मंच पर लाने का काम शुरू, राजू श्रीवास्तव से शुरू हुआ सदस्यता अभियान". jagran.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Raju Srivastava: Popular Indian comedian dies aged 58". BBC News. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. ^ Sharma, Sampada (29 December 2017). "28 years of Maine Pyar Kiya: Eight lesser-known facts about the Salman Khan starrer". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
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  9. ^ "Raju Srivastava Died On 21 Sept". Bolly Movie Review Tech. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
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  37. ^ "Kanjoos Makhichoos trailer: Kunal Kemmu turns annoying miser, Raju Srivastav's final appearance leaves fans emotional". DNA India. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
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  39. ^ "BJP is future of Indian politics, says Raju Srivastava". News18. 5 December 2009. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
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  41. ^ "Meet the fleet – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
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  43. ^ "Finally Raju Srivastav on 'Comedy Nights with Kapil'! – Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  44. ^ "Being seriously funny". 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  45. ^ "After Sunil Grover, Is Kapil Sharma's New Co-Star Raju Srivastava? Not Yet". NDTV.com. 23 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  46. ^ "Hostel Daze season 3 teaser: Raju Srivastava makes his final appearance, makes fans emotional. Watch". Hindustan Times. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2023.

External links edit