Raju Srivastava's daughter Antara asks people to not blame the gym for her father's death: 'Whatever happened to him...'

Famous comedian Raju Srivastava breathed his last on September 21 last year at the age of 58 after he had been admitted to the AIIMS Hospital, Delhi on August 10 when he suffered a cardiac arrest while working out at a gym. In a recent interview, his daughter Anatara Srivastava asked the people to not blame the gym for her father's death.

Speaking to ETimes about his father's dedication to fitness, Antara said, "He would try and stick to his gym routine come what may. He was very conscious about his physical fitness. He would go to the gym at least every alternate day. When he was outdoors, he would search out a gym here and there, even on the road looking out from his car and hit it.".

"He was a major motivation for our family members who did not exercise. Whatever happened to him, it was just incidental that it happened while he was gymming. He had a health condition. We shouldn't blame the gym", she further added and stated that Raju had reduced the number of days and time spent in the gym after his heart condition.

Just like her father, Antara too is a part of the Hindi entertainment industry. She has worked as an assistant producer in the thriller Vodka Diaries, directed by the late comedian's nephew Kushal Srivastava and also assisted the veteran filmmaker JP Dutta in his war drama Paltan. She has also produced Kushal's short films such as Shreyas Talpade's Speed Dial and Kalki Koechlin's The Job.

For the unversed, Antara received the National Gallantry Award at the age of 12. It was when armed thieves broke into their house and Antara was home with only her mother that she managed to sneak into the bedroom, call her father and the police to report the incident, simultaneously shouting for help from the bedroom window, that she foiled the robbers' plans with her presence of mind and courage. She was later awarded the National Bravery Award in 2006 for her courage from then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

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