On Wednesday, comedian Raju Srivastava passed away. He was 58. On August 10, Raju was taken to the hospital after passing out in the gym and being taken to AIIMS, Delhi. He had a cardiac arrest, undergone angioplasty, and was then placed on a ventilator. The comedian recalled imitating veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan and earning his first fifty rupees in an old interview about his beginnings. Read also: Raju Srivastava's top five stand-up routines

Raju started working in the entertainment industry in the 1980s, but it wasn't until 2005 that he was acknowledged for his contributions to the comedy competition The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. In 2009, he was also a participant on Bigg Boss 3. In Hindi movies like Maine Pyar Kiya, Bombay to Goa, and Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya, Raju also made an appearance.

More than ten years ago, Raju claimed that he began his career by copying Amitabh when he appeared on the show Aap Ki Adalat. The late comedian had stated in Hindi, "I started getting influenced by Amitabh Bachchan when I was very young. He had become my idol when I was a young child. I don't hesitate to say that he is still and always will be my idol, even after all these years. When I first arrived in Mumbai, I was without a job and starving. Only because I could mimic his voice and deliver his well-known dialogues did I land my first job. There weren't many people who could mimic him well at the time. Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, and Shatrughan Sinha were once imitations. That was the trend back then and I knew all his dialogues.”

Raju continued, "I was able to buy food because of him (Amitabh), and I made my first 50, then 100, thanks to him. He has therefore been extremely important in ensuring that I have a career and a life in Mumbai.

In the past few weeks, the late comedian's family had been providing health updates. Raju's daughter Antara Srivastava shared a message from his official Instagram account earlier in August. "Dear all well-wishers," it read. The health of my father, Mr. Raju Srivastava Ji, is stable, and he is making slow progress toward recovery. He currently has a ventilator in place. The only reliable sources for information are AI IMS Delhi and Raju Ji's official social media accounts. Any other information or assertions are unreliable. At AIIMS Delhi, the medical staff is diligently and diligently working. We appreciate them and all of his supporters. I kindly ask that you all continue to send your love and good wishes for his quick recovery.

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