Raju Srivastava – The comic who didn’t mean the F word and MC / BC to make people laugh

India that is Bharat is a civilisational state. And civilisational states have definitions and well documented history of proposed way of life, which also includes humour and satire. Humour finds its place in RigVeda, where it is proposed that humour lightens the burden of the mind. In the Rigveda Samhita Vishwamitra also prescribes that fools should not be ridiculed. The question of laughter and humour have been addressed in some of the great Sanatani literatures like Ramayana and Mahabharata. Humour also finds its place in the Nava-rasa in the form of Hasya raas. A man was who lived in the humour industry and actually lived as per the essence of the Sanatan Dharma and made the whole India laugh with his clean jokes. He was Comedian Raju Srivastava, who went for his heavenly abode this morning.

Raju Srivastava did put up a brave fight

Comedian Raju Srivastava had suffered from a cardiac arrest on August 10 while working out in the gym. He was working out on the treadmill while he experienced chest pain and collapsed. He was given CPR twice to resuscitate his heart. He was admitted to AIIMS Delhi, where he remained unconscious and under observation, as he had suffered severe brain damage after the cardiac arrest. He was on ventilator support at AIIMS, Delhi. He passed away on September 21. His last rites will take place at Delhi’s Nigam Bodh Ghat in the morning on September 21.

Raju’s brother-in-law confirmed to the media that Raju’s funeral will be held in Delhi. He spoke to IndiaToday.in and said, “In the morning, his BP dropped and then he was given CPR. At first, he responded to it but later collapsed. The ventilator was supposed to be removed in 2-3 days. Medicine doses had also been decreased.” Srivastava’s wife Shikha called him a true fighter. Srivastava is survived by wife Shikha and two children, Antara and Ayushman.

From humble beginning to the most-loved Comedian of the nation

Raju Srivastava was born as Satya Prakash Srivastava on December 25, 1963 in Kidwai Nagar area of Kanpur city in Uttar Pradesh. Born as a small-town boy, Srivastava has a long story of struggles to prove himself the best in India.

With eyes full of dreams, Raju came to Mumbai in the 80s. To make his ends meet he even worked as an auto-driver for some time until he started getting work. Srivastava is a gifted mimic and that helped him bag small cameo roles in films like Tezaab, Maine Pyar Kiya, Baazigar, Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya, Main Prem ki Deewani Hoon among others.

He got his first break in 1994 with Doordarshan’s Tea Time Manoranjan. He became a household name with his role of Dhurandhar Singh in Shaktimaan, India’s first sci-fi show.

Then came a show that made Raju Srivastava a star, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge in the year 2005. He participated in the show, and his stage characters like Gajodhar and Manodhar are still being remembered by everyone. He made his presence felt with his expressions and his clean family comedy made him stand out. His character Gajodhar can be traced as the turning point in his life. Raju bagged the second runner up trophy. He then participated in the ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge- Champions’ in which he won the title of ‘The King of Comedy’. This television show garnered him nationwide fame. He went on doing these kinds of shows and appeared in ‘Comedy ka Maha Muqabala’, ‘Laugh India Laugh’, ‘Comedy Circus’, ‘Gangs of Haseepur’. He was also seen in Big Boss season 3 as a contestant.

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For Raju Srivastava, Nation came above everything

Fame brings in a lot of things with it, same happened with Raju Srivastava. It was around 2010 when Srivastava started getting death threats for cracking jokes on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. In contrast to many artists who choose to perform on the other side of the border, Srivastava had turned down show offers from Pakistan in 2016. In the aftermath of the dastardly Uri attack Srivastava had said, “We cannot get to the border with guns. I have cancelled my show in Karachi, this is just a way to protest.”

Raju Srivastava was also a well-known politician. He ventured into politics in 2014 with a Samajwadi ticket. The party had offered him a Lok Sabha ticket from Kanpur. He had started preparations, but a few days ahead of the elections he returned the ticket alleging that he and his supporters were receiving threats and the top SP leadership was not taking cognisance of his complaint in the same regard. A week later, he joined the Bhartiya Janata Party. He was a part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and he shot various TV commercials and social service for the same.

With Raju Srivastava, ends the era of clean comedy

In a world full of struggle, hatred and negativity around, Raju Srivastava gifted us with much needed laughter. But what makes him different from comedians who are currently ruling the social media is how Raju Srivastava, as ‘A man made the entire family laugh together’. Raju Srivastava is probably the first Indian comedian who mainstreamed comedy without using any kind of abusive language or censored world, unlike the new age comedians. Let me name names here, be it Kunal Kamra, or the likes of Atul Khatri or the ones struggling to meet their ends AIB (All India Backc***), what they spill in the name of stand-up comedy is some crass words, abusive language, censored things on stage and thus can be surely credited for taking comedy to filth. This new age talent less comedians have made a lot of Indians believe that this is comedy, this is what happens in the West and this is what makes the new generation cool. Some stand-up comics even cross all barriers of shame, and go the West and malign India’s image in the name of art but that’s neither comedy nor an art. Comedy and Humour was what Raju Srivastava performed on stage. With no censored words, no sexual comments, no abuses like MC/BC, no F word, he made the entire India laugh. He performed jokes and satire which helped people connect with him. He connected with every Indian and their struggles through his stand-ups. He won hearts through his expressions. Can the new age boys and girls who claim to be comedians perform their stand-ups without the F work? The answer is No! And, hence I write with Raju Srivastava ends the era of clean comedy.