By: Sneha Purkayastha, The North-Eastern Chronicle
Visual by: Kunal Kaustav Duwarah
Sidharth Shukla, an amazing actor who worked both in Indian telly shows and Bollywood met with a very untimely death. As shocking as it might have been for many, he died at the early age of 40. Sidharth rose to fame with the famous show ‘Balika Vadhu’ which aired on Colors TV- one of India’s popular broadcasting networks.
Death is an uncalled visitor in life. It is uncertain, unpredictable and hence leaves the life of closer ones with a void and grief. Who can escape death?? The answer is None. But what is left behind is the memories attached to the person who forever lives by.
Early Life of Sidharth Shukla
Born on 12 December 1980 to Indian parents Ashok Shukla and Rita Shukla in Bombay. His father was a civil engineer who worked at Reserved Bank of India and his mother was a homemaker. Sidharth was the youngest among the three children.
He was a very athletic and active child who studied at St. Xavier’s High School, Fort Mumbai. Shukla’s interest in sports made him participate in various sports categories such as tennis and football. Sidharth then went on to do his bachelor degree in Interior Designing from Rachana Sansad School of Interior Design. Before entering in entertainment industry he worked for a designing firm.
Stepping towards the Modelling career
The little boy who had an ardent will for engaging in diverse activities gathered his courage to try new things even after graduating from interior designing which later paved the way towards his success.
Sidharth participated in the Gladrags Manhunt and Mega Model Contest which is an Indian unisexual magazine pageant. He won this pageant in 2004. This was a push to his modelling career, Sidharth added another winning sash to his list by winning the World’s Best Model contest representing India at the global level in Turkey in 2005.
Initial Projects
After successfully winning in modelling contests Shukla tried his luck in Indian television shows. Sidharth’s debut came in 2008 when he was chosen as a lead in a Hindi serial titled ‘Babul ka Aangann Chootey Na’ which featured on Sony TV. In subsequent years Shukla did many other shows.
The show which earned him fame and made him a familiar face in the Indian household was ‘Balika Vadhu’ – one of the most popular and highest-grossing shows which showed the life of a girl named ‘Anandi’ who was forced into child marriage at a very tender age. Shukla appeared in the show in 2012 as Shivraj Shekhar who played the role of a district collector. The show earned him many nominations and awards.
Shukla also participated in the dance show ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja’ in the sixth season telecasted on Colors TV.
Sidharth’s big break led to his debut in Bollywood with ‘Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania’ in 2014 starring aside Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. He played the role of Alia’s fiance and doctor named Angad Bedi. He also did another film in 2016 named ‘Business in Kazakhstan’.
Shukla also appeared in various reality shows and hosted television shows like Savdhaan India, India’s Got Talent season 6. He was the winner of the popular reality show ‘Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi season-7’. Shukla also appeared in the popular serial ‘Dil Se Dil Tak’ opposite Rashmi Desai and Jasmin Bhasin.
In 2020, Sidharth won the popular Colors TV show ‘Bigg Boss’ season 13 hosted by actor Salman Khan. After that, he did appear in music videos and made his OTT debut in Broken But Beautiful.
His achievements and glory
Sidharth’s amazing career was appreciated and encouraged with a lot of nominations and awards. In 2014, he achieved Gold Awards in the category of Most Fit Actor. For his role in Balika Vadhu, he was nominated by Star Guild Awards in the best actor in a drama series, he was awarded by ITA Awards as ‘ GR8! Performer of the Year(Male)’, Zee Gold Awards ‘Best actor (popular) in 2013.
In the upcoming years he was nominated in many categories furthermore was also awarded for his Bollywood debut in ‘Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania’ by Stardust Awards (2015) in the category ‘Breakthrough supporting performance (Male)’, he was also nominated for Filmfare Awards 2015.
Shukla had many awards and achievements in his name. He was also awarded by many media houses, in 2020 he appeared in Times of India’s Most Desirable Man ranking 11th and has been recognised by many because of his stylish personality. He also earned praises for his show Broken But Beautiful for his remarkable performance.
Early demise
The budding talent and powerhouse of creativity shocked his fans with his untimely death on 2nd September 2021 following a cardiac arrest at the age of 40. Gone too soon but will never be forgotten, Sidharth will forever live in the heart of his fans.
