Sorry if it hurt, thanks for the perspective: Rohan Joshi apologises for comments on Raju Srivastava

After Rohan Joshi’s comment over comedian Raju Srivastava’s demise created an uproar on social media, the former AIB member apologised on Thursday.

Raju passed away in New Delhi on September 21 after battling for his life at the AIIMS hospital for over a month. He had been admitted to AIIMS on August 10 after suffering a cardiac arrest while working out. After his death on Wednesday, comedian Atul Khatri, penned a small tribute for Raju on social media.

Commenting on Atul’s post, Rohan said, “We haven’t lost a thing.”

“We haven’t lost a thing. Whether it was Kamra whether it was roast or any comic in the news, Raju Srivastava took every opportunity he ever got to s**t on newer comics, especially after the new wave of stand-up started. He went on every f***all news channel every time he was invited to go s*** on an upcoming arty form and call it offensive just because he couldn’t understand it and new stars were rising. He might have told a few good jokes but he understood nothing about the spirit of comedy or defending someone’s right to say something even if you don’t agree. F**k him and good riddance (sic),” read the full comment.

After being trolled for the remark, Rohan deleted the comment. He later apologised and wrote, “Yehi soch kar delete kiya kyuki (I deleted it because) after a minute of anger I realised today is not about my personal feelings. Sorry if it hurt and thanks for the perspective (sic).”

Former AIB member and co-creator Tanmay Bhat also tweeted about Raju and wrote, “Raju was truly a pioneer and the father of observational comedy. Where all others’ imagination ended – Raju thrived. A whole generation of comedians wanted to be Raju, before they even knew what was funny. RIP legend.”