Sonil Dedhia (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 28, 2020)

Daily wage earners, across industries, are among those most severely hit due to the Coronavirus crisis. And this includes the lookalikes of Bollywood actors. Raju Rahikwar, 46, a lookalike of actor Shah Rukh Khan, who has been entertaining audiences since 1995, is finding it difficult to support his family during the lockdown. “I don’t see things getting better anytime soon. I have started a small business of selling hand sanitisers and masks, along with a friend. I need to feed my family and also pay my children’s school fees,” he shares.

He adds that the only individual who has come forward to help is actor Salman Khan. “I received ₹3,000 from Being Human Foundation but I distributed it among three people, just as Salman bhai has been asking his fans to do. I also got a food coupon worth ₹1,500 from the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE),” he says.

Arif Khan, a lookalike of actor Anil Kapoor and also the president of All India Look Alike Association, feels the industry should look into their problems. “FWICE president, Birendra Nath Tiwari and secretary Ashok Dubey are doing a great job of [helping] daily wage workers. I appreciate their efforts, but I believe the industry should look after us, too. As there are no film or ad shoots and events going on, the lookalikes have been jobless. We need the industry to do something for us, just like other daily wage earners are being supported,” he says.

Echoing the worries amid the current crisis, Zaed, a lookalike of Sunny Deol, says, “I have been doing this all my life. I am not even in a position to think of what else I can do for a living. Many are dependent on my income and the situation is just going from bad to worse.”

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 26, 2016)

Raju aspires to be in Bhai's reality show; wants SRK to feature in his documentary
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 1, 2015)


Raju Rahikwar has been earning his bread and butter impersonating Shah Rukh Khan since the last 20 years. He first met the Badshah of Bolywood on the sets of Rajiv Mehra's Chamatkar, and since then he has been making a living as the 49-yer-old-actor's lookalike.

Now, Mirror has learnt that the 'duplicate' SRK met Salman Khan on the sets of Bajrangi Bhaijaan. And he kept Bhai entertained for almost half-an-hour mimicking his foe-turned-friend.

Raju along with Salman's lookalike, Sagar Pandey, was shooting for a TV talent hunt show in Film City when they realised that the actor was in the vicinity. "I wanted to meet Salman Bhai and asked Sagar to accompany me. Sanjay Dutt's lookalike Aayush Jadeja also came along. Sagar introduced us to Salman who seemed genuinely happy to meet us and asked me to demonstrate some Shah Rukh saab kind of acting," reminisces Raju.

He was happy to oblige, rattling off dialogue from King Khan's hits like Darr, Baazigar and Ram Jaane. "I have an introduction before my act with the names of all Shah Rukh bhai's films and serials. Salman was impressed and told me, 'Tu bhi tere Shah Rukh saab ki tarah bahut talented hai,'" says Raju floored by Salman's behaviour.

In fact, Raju turned up on the sets again the following day to click a memento picture with Salman. "He instantly recognised me. While posing for the camera, I asked him if I could put my hand on his waist and he laughing gave his permission," he reminisces.

Raju wants to be in the next season of Bigg Boss. He admits he's been trying since 2006. It will be interesting to see a Shah Rukh lookalike locked in the Bigg Boss house, a show that Salman hosts.

Meanwhile, since 2009, Raju has been working on a documentary titled The Living of King Khan Shadow and wants SRK to make a special appearance in the film. "It's the climax scene and I've already sent a proposal to his team and I am awaiting for them to revert. I will not release the film until Shah Rukh Khan is a part of it," he asserts.