Popular comedian-actor Raju Srivastava is "critical and on a ventilator" in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital.
According to news reports, he also suffered immense brain damage after cardiac arrest. Srivastava's friend Ahsaan Qureshi told the DNA that his brain isn't functioning completely.
The 58-year-old stand-up comic underwent angioplasty following a heart attack on Wednesday. "He was doing his routine exercise, and while he was on the treadmill, he suddenly fell. He suffered a heart attack and was immediately taken to the AIIMS," Raju's cousin Ashok Srivastava had told PTI.
Srivastava received recognition after participating in the first season of the stand-up comedy show "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge" in 2005. He has been active in the entertainment industry since the late 1980s.
He has appeared in Hindi films such as "Maine Pyar Kiya", "Baazigar", "Bombay to Goa" (remake), and "Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya".
Praying for his recovery, actor Shekhar Sumar tweeted that the comedian was seriously ill after a heart attack and had been put on the ventilator.
With inputs from PTI
