Raju Srivastava, an actor and hugely popular stand up comedian, passed away on Wednesday in Delhi at the age of 58, according to his family. He passed unexpectedly on Wednesday morning, according to Raju’s brother Dipoo. Antara, his daughter, just told me. I’m in Mumbai and headed to Delhi.
According to hospital officials, the comedian died about 10:30 am. Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, as well as Manoj Muntashir, Nimrat Kaur, and others, paid respect to Raju.
Last month, Raju Srivastava had a heart arrest while exercising at a gym in the city. He was admitted to AIIMS and had angioplasty there. He was reportedly in severe condition and had been on a ventilator for more than a month. Although he made a little progress, Raju’s health started to deteriorate earlier this week.
Industry pays rich tributes to Raju Srivastava
Ever since the news of the comedian’s demise emerged, his colleagues and friends from the industry have expressed their condolences.
Raju 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 a news agency earlier.
Tusshar Kapoor shared a tweet which read, “RIP,” as the actor posted a photo of the late comedian. Lyricist Manoj Muntashir tweeted in Hindi, “You will be deeply missed. May God keep you in his sight.” Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, actor Nimrat Kaur, Manoj Joshi among more mourned the death of the comic star.
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.