Ritika
Comedian Raju Srivastav died on Wednesday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, where he was admitted for 41 days. Raju Srivastava rose to fame early in his career by resembling Amitabh Bachchan, but later he distinguished himself as a comedian. From a comedy acting career, he turned to politics and after a few days in the Samajwadi Party, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Jokes used to be related to things around
Raju, who hails from Kanpur, enthralled his audience with his unique humour, on theatre, on television and on social media platforms. His humor consisted of jokes based on surrounding things, animals, various characters of society. Sometimes he used to create humor by presenting the depiction of traveling in Mumbai’s local train and sometimes he used to make people laugh by putting in front the scene of the wedding ceremony feast. In the beginning of his career, he was recognized for looking like Amitabh Bachchan, but after that he gradually made his mark and made his own fan base. He was also known for imitating politicians like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lalu Prasad and many other artists.
Won heart by becoming ‘Gajodhar Bhaiya’
Raju Srivastava also did small roles in some films. For example, he was seen in ‘Tezaab’ (1988), ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ (1989) and ‘Baazigar’ (1993). He also worked in Doordarshan’s famous show ‘Shaktimaan’ in the 1990s. However, in 2005, he got more recognition with the show ‘The Great India Laughter Challenge’. He became synonymous with laughter from house to house, became the pride of the stage. He used to introduce himself as a lazy rural character ‘Gajodhar Bhaiya’ and his fans also called him by this name.
Raju was the president of UP Film Development Council
Raju was given ticket from the Samajwadi Party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Kanpur. He returned it and joined the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi associated him with the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ and he was also made the President of the Film Development Council of Uttar Pradesh. He remained in this position till his last. He also had a critical stance beyond humor. He criticized the OTT platform show ‘Mirzapur’ for its violent and obscene content. He targeted the web series ‘Tandav’ in 2021 for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Hindus. Please tell that Raju’s father Ramesh Srivastava was also a comic poet.
Raju was inspired by Amitabh
In 1982, when Bachchan suffered a severe injury during the shooting of the film ‘Coolie’, Raju Srivastava reached Mumbai at the age of just 18. He wanted to catch a glimpse of Bachchan. When Raju Srivastava did not get a glimpse of Amitabh, he joined the staring crowd at Breach Candy Hospital, where the ‘Shahenshah’ was admitted. Raju Srivastava’s brother Deepu told ‘PTI-Bhasha’, ‘Raju bhai used to eat vada pav daily and used to pray for Bachchan ji while standing outside the hospital. He had come to see Amitabh Bachchan ji because he considered him as God. Amitabh Bachchan recovered and returned to the sets and Raju Srivastava decided to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, which changed his life. Dipu said, “He used to sleep in the bridges and parks of Dadar station and lived in a slum. He used to go through newspaper advertisements to find out about comedy shows being held in the city.
