One of the most popular stand-up comedians in the country was Raju Srivastav. He became famous for his routines on ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ relatively early on in his career in stand-up comedy.
Raju Srivastava (25 December 1963 — 21 September 2022), known professionally as Raju Srivastava and often credited as Gajodhar, was an Indian comedian, actor and politician. He has been a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014.
| Born | 25 December 1963 , Kanpur Uttar Pradesh India |
| Died | 21 September 2022 (aged 58) , New Delhi |
| Spouse | Shikha Srivastava |
| Notable works and roles | Standup Comedy on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge |
He started his career in the 1980s by doing small roles in Bollywood films. He had a part in the Rajshri Productions movie Maine Pyar Kiya and other small roles in several movies such as Baazigar and Bombay to Goa.
He was an actor and comedian in the Bollywood movie Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya. He finished as second runner-up in the 2005 talent show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, where he ventured into stand-up comedy.
He became famous with The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, and took part in its spin-off – The Great Indian Laughter Challenge – Champions, winning the title of “The King of Comedy”.
He said in an interview in 2009 that vulgarity in comedy shows was a concern for him. He believed that the comedians should regulate themselves. During his shows in 2010, Srivastav received threatening calls from Pakistan warning him not to crack jokes on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan.
He had done more than 2,800 live shows by 2009. Raju and his wife participated in Nach Baliye season 6, which is a couples dance show on StarPlus, in 2013.
He has also been a guest on Comedy Nights with Kapil. He also appeared on Mazaak Mazaak Mein, a Hindi reality television talent competition. Srivastav also participated in Bigg Boss (Hindi season 3), which is the Indian counterpart of the Big Brother (franchise).
On 4 December 2009, he was voted out after staying in the house for more than two months. He participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala later.
