Raju made people laugh even on the streets, recall his family and friends

Kanpur: A pall of gloom descended on Raju Srivastava’s parental house in Naya Purwa in Kidwai Nagar of Kanpur on Wednesday morning as the news of the death of the noted stand-up comic came in. People of the locality, who had earlier held havans and puja for the actor’s speedy recovery, recalled Raju’s journey from a teenager to a Bollywood celebrity who was loved by all.
Raju is survived by his wife Shikha, daughter Antara and son Ayushman, besides elder brother CP Srivastava and younger brother Deepu Srivastava.
His childhood and youth were spent on the streets of Kanpur. Even after becoming a star, he was known for his simplicity. “Even after he reached the heights, if someone asked him to tell jokes even on the street, he would never refuse. You will not believe that he used to tell jokes on the phone from Mumbai,” said Gyanesh Mishra, a childhood friend of Raju.
Recalling the bygone days, many of Raju’s friends said that he had struggled a lot on the streets of Kanpur. Raju’s first public event was organised at the community centre in Kidwai Nagar. “When uncle (Raju) used to come on stage wearing a suit like Amitabh, everyone used to go crazy about him,” said Rajat, his nephew.
Reminiscing his tale, Rajat said, “Once, uncle (Raju) was travelling in a Mumbai-bound train on a general ticket. When TTE came to check the ticket, he inquired him for what you are going to Mumbai. My uncle replied, to become an actor. TTE then questioned what talent you have, on this he mimicked Amitabh’s voice. On this the TTE asked him to give his reference and meet Qawwal Shankar Shambhu living in Borivali Mumbai and gave him the address. Shankar Shambhu gave uncle a shelter at his home. He started playing manjira in the qawwal’s troupe. His first program with the qawwal was aired on Doordarshan in Lucknow in which he was seen playing the manjira sitting behind.”
Rajat further said that “initially my uncle did not get work, he was also short of money. To meet the expenses, uncle started driving an auto”.
According to Manoj Srivastava, his relative hailing from Prayagraj, Raju used to make people laugh while travelling in autos by his jokes. “In return, they used to give him a tip along with the auto fair.”
Then one day while driving an auto, he got a break for stand-up comedy. ,“After seven years of struggle, he started getting shows. At that time Rs 50 were available as remuneration. According to Raju ‘bhai’, during the days of struggle, he used to do comedy even for Rs 50 by going to birthday parties,” Manoj said, adding that Raju was not only famous in India but in more than 30 countries.
According to family sources, Raju used to charge Rs 5 to Rs 7 lakh for a show. “Apart from this, he also earned a lot from advertising, stage hosting, films and TV shows,” said sources further and added, “Very few people know that Raju was also fond of high-end cars. He has a great collection of cars which includes expensive ones like BMW, Audi, Innova Crysta.” Manoj recalled, “Raju had come to the Sirathu assembly seat in February to campaign in favour of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.” He further said that Raju considered Prayagraj as his second home. He always used to visit the ‘Kumbh Mela’.
“He had promised us to come again in the Kumbh of 2025, but sadly his dream remained unfulfilled,” he said.