"Jeena yahan marna yahan". With these words immortalised by the voice of Mukesh in Raj Kapoor's classic 'Mera Naam Joker', popular comedienne Bharti Singh remembered the late Raju Srivastava.
Bharti said from the sets of a show she is working on: "Just a few days back, I spoke to his wife and told her that he will be fine. He had made everyone laugh, so God will do justice to him. She asked me to pray for him and I said I pray for him every day. But today, just five minutes ago, I came to know about his demise and it came as a shock to me during the shoot."
She told IANS: "I am at the shoot and have to make everyone laugh, but I don't know how to do it. I am in pain but even then I can't say this to anyone that I want to cry.""I have watched his movies and as a comedienne I learned a lot from him, but now who is going to guide us when the king of comedy is no more.
I watched him on 'The Great Indian Laughter Challenge', he inspired me a lot. It's a great loss for the entire country. I don't have words to express how I am feeling right now."The passing of Raju Srivastava on September 21, after being in the ICU for 43 days, came as a shock to the entertainment industry and his family and friends.