Raju Srivastava: The man who brought alive Gajodhar bhaiya

Mumbai, Sep 21: Raju Srivastava, the man who introduced India to the world of stand-up comedy and dominated the field in the late 2000s died today at the age of 58. He will forever be remembered by his fans as a man who knew how to make the nation laugh with unique comic timing and an earthy take on India's rural life.

Srivastava was known most for his acute scrutiny and comical timing about various Indian aspects of life. His earthy and realistic character Gajodhar on the comedy show Laughter Challenge had almost the entire country rolling with laughter. It was not often that a comedian could tickle everyone's funny bone with such simplistic character.

Raju Srivastav, a talented artiste, with a flair for comedy, had done stage shows with Kalyanji Anandji, Bappi Lahiri and Nitin Mukesh in India and abroad.

He was also noticed by Johnny Lever when he used to do stage shows before joining the film industry.

Raju's mimicry was liked and applauded by the masses and he was an important person in Johnny Lever's troupe.

His big break, however, was the comedy talent show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Although he didn't win the competition and only received a 1st runner-up title, he followed that stint with some memorable stage performances in the spin-off, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge - Champions, where he was unofficially given the coveted title "The King of Comedy".

He participated in Big Boss 3, Indian counterpart of the Big Brother. After staying in the house for more than two months he was voted out on December 4, 2009.