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SRK’s lookalike Raju Rahikwar shares his struggle story; Says ‘Don’t want money from anyone, I just need work’
As an unfortunate consequence of the lockdown and its subsequent restrictions many people lost out on work, one of them is Shah Rukh Khan’s lookalike. Says that he is looking for work
One of the major consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic has been loss of jobs. Many people all around the world were out of work owing to the lockdown and its subsequent restrictions. The Bollywood film industry had faced the brunt as well. After the shoots were halted, daily wage workers had lost out on work, and many among them reportedly took on temporary jobs to keep going. However, many artists are still facing the repercussions of the pandemic, aching to get back to their original work.
One of them is Shah Rukh Khan’s lookalike Raju Rahikwar. Before the lockdown he would make his ends meet while performing as SRK at several industry and corporate shows. He has even played the superstar’s body double in an ad. However, with no events in hand at the moment, he is struggling for money. While speaking to Pinkvilla, Rahikwar informs that he is looking for work. “What I presently do is look up for phone numbers of event managers on Google, and then I message them inquiring about possible shows. In fact, a few months ago I had even tweeted to Sonu Sood saab stating that I have too many liabilities and that I am in need of work. Thode din pehle light kaatne bhi aaye the, ab main kya bataun aapko. Honestly, I don’t want money from anyone, I just need work,” says Raju aka Jr. Shah Rukh Khan.
He informs that soon after the lockdown was announced he was stuck at home for 56 days. “In October I was supposed to fly to the US for a show, but couldn’t do so because of the travel restrictions. Thankfully, one of my friends Rrajesh Mallaya, who supplies shoot equipments, came to my rescue. Since no films were being shot during the lockdown he started selling masks and gloves during that period, and asked me to join him. I don’t have any business sense but I am good at marketing. So I started making videos with these masks and gloves and posted them on several WhatsApp groups. I even put up a stall in my building compound to take orders from there. That’s how my income started again after being stuck at home for two months,” says Raju.
Around September when several shootings resumed Raju and his friend restarted selling the shoot equipments. His friend Mallaya had another branch of equipments in Dubai and wanted Raju to help him sell the materials lying there as well. “So I went there for 35 days and started selling his lights and other materials from one shop to another. I remember in Dubai I saw a jacket worth 15 dirham and a laptop bag worth 45 dirham. I wanted to buy them for my children, so I cut down on my daily meal expense so that I could bring those presents for my kids,” asserts Raju, informing that in the beginning of the lockdown he had received monetary help of Rs. 3,000 from Salman Khan.
“We even received Rs. 3,000 from Akshay Kumar that was given to us via CINTAA (Cine And TV Artistes' Association). CINTAA had given more Rs. 4,500 in cash and a grocery voucher worth Rs. 1,500 to all it’s members. Back then some of my lookalike artists were really struggling to make ends meet, so I gave this money to them. Now all I hope for is regular work to start so that I can get back on track,” Raju signs off.
ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Shah Rukh Khan produced Bob Biswas featuring Abhishek Bachchan to release in Summer 2021
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