Raju Srivastava prayer meet: Kapil Sharma, Bharti Singh get misty-eyed; Johnny Lever talks of ‘huge loss for comedy’

A prayer meet for late comedian Raju Srivastava was organised on Sunday, and several celebrities arrived to pay their respects. Comedians Johnny Lever, Sunil Pal, Kapil Sharma, Bharti Singh, Kiku Sharda, and several others were in attendance. Johnny also spoke about Raju at the prayer meet and described his death as a ‘huge loss for stand-up comedy.’ Also Read| Raju Srivastava’s wife cries inconsolably during comedian’s funeral

Kapil Sharma, Kiku Sharda, Bharti Singh, and Haarsh Limbachiyaa arrived at the venue together. Kapil and Bharti appeared misty-eyed as he left. Kapil held Bharti’s shoulder as he escorted her to her car. Sunil Pal and Sailesh Lodha were also spotted at the venue and were seen deep in conversation at one point.

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh arrived with his father Nitin Mukesh and held the singer’s hand as they made it inside the venue. Gurmeet Choudhary was also pictured at the prayer meet.

Johnny Lever spoke to the media at the event, and remembered his bond with the late comedian. He said, “Raju’s struggle days started with me. We have family relations, and we are neighbours as well. So you can imagine how much grief I am in. We have lost a great artist, he would have made people laugh for many more years, but he suddenly died. It’s a huge loss for stand-up comedy.”

Raju died on September 21 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after 41 days of hospitalisation. He was 58. The comedian was admitted to the hospital after he experienced chest pain and collapsed while working out at the gym in a Delhi hotel. He went into a coma following the cardiac arrest.

He was cremated in Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat on September 22 as per Hindu rituals. His colleagues Sunil Pal and Ahsaan Qureshi, director Madhur Bhandarkar and singer Ram Shankar among others joined his family to pay him tribute at his funeral.