Comedian Sunil Pal remembers Raju Srivastava: ‘Would help juniors get gigs, helped financially too’

Comedian Sunil Pal said he wanted the news of Raju Srivastava‘s passing to be just rumours, and kept on praying he would get better. The comedian says he’s “not able to accept that Raju bhai is no more. He was fighting for his health everyday, he was a strong man who has had several struggles in life but all that he ever showed us, the world, is his funny side, he made us laugh.”
Pal and Srivastava were co-contestants in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (season one) in 2005, which the former also won. However, Pal remembers Srivastava as his mentor. He opens up, “Raju bhai was my mentor in all senses. He was the school of comedy we looked up to and learned so much from. He was one of the pioneers of the desi stand-up comedy in some way. He would handle every situation in his life, happy or sad, with a joke. I’m sure he’s making jokes on his death from heaven even right now. He’d write jokes and share with me, and honestly none of his jokes were ever not funny. He was my senior, but he was always open to feedback, always asked for it and we had to be honest, otherwise he’d know that we’re fake laughing, if we did, which was never.”

Pal was constantly in touch with the Srivastava family from the day he was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. The late comedian suffered a heart attack on August 10 while he was exercising. He was immediately admitted to the hospital and after undergoing an angiography, he was put on ventilator, where he fought for his life for over 40 days.

Pal says, “I was always trying to understand how this suddenly happened, he was always exercising and stayed fit. I was in touch with his family and friends to know how he is doing. He was in my prayers every day, and today I can’t believe that he is no more. I was, like everybody was, hoping for a miracle. He fought this battle for a long time, somehow I still remember his fun side. I can hear his laughter in my mind. When he laughed, it seemed the world is alright.”

Pal also shared that Raju was not someone who only worked for himself, but believed in giving back to his fraternity in some way or the other. He says, “Before we participated in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge in 2005, he already had done a lot of work. He was an well established comedy actor who rapidly grew in the desi stand-up comedy scene because his humour was very topical. His humour had a personality as his jokes were based on national and world politics.”
‘Raju bhai was not only a comedian but had a heart of gold. He would treat his juniors with a lot of love and encouraged us all. He would help juniors find gigs. He would also help his juniors financially, made sure they are paid on time and paid well. He brought in a lot of good changes in the comedy circle,” Pal added.
“I remember Raju bhai as always laughing. If someone stood next to him, however sad they’d be but didn’t show, Raju bhai would just come to know and crack them up. I can never forget his face lit up with a big grin. I’ll only remember him as a happy person who made happy. Our fraternity will miss him, I am sad that the new generation of comedians will never be able to watch him perform live. We’ll miss his jokes.”