In a heartbreaking turn of events, television and film actor Sidharth Shukla breathed his last on Thursday. The actor suffered a cardiac arrest. He was 40. After his unfortunate demise, several celebrities from the television and film fraternity have taken to social media to mourn the loss. Many had also reached Oshiwara crematorium to attend Sidharth’s funeral.
Many celebrities and their family members are also sharing their fondest memories of the Bigg Boss 13 winner. In this regard, late Pratyusha Banerjee’s father has revealed how Sidharth helped him and his wife during the COVID-19 lockdown.
In an interview with Aaj Tak, late Pratyusha’s dad Shankar Banerjee said that he considered Sidharth to be his son. He revealed that during the shooting of Balika Vadhu, his daughter Pratyusha and Sidharth had become close friends. After Pratyusha’s death, Sidharth stopped coming to their home because of the rumours of a relationship between him and the actress. However, Sidharth continued to check on Pratyusha’s family via texts.
Shankar also said that Sidharth offered to help them during the lockdown. “During this lockdown, he used to constantly message me. I got his last message a couple of months ago. He used to ask in the message ‘Uncle, aunty do you need help?’, ‘Are you guys fine?’, ‘Can I help in any way?’ He had forcibly sent ₹20,000,” he has been quoted saying.
In Balika Vadhu, Sidharth played the role of Shivraj Shekhar and was paired opposite Pratyusha. The duo’s pairing was a hit, and fans shipped the screen couple for more reasons than one.
The actor’s unfortunate death has come as a shock to not just his fans and family members, but also his friends in the industry. Earlier today, several celebrities including Shehnaaz Gill, Asim Riaz, Arjun Bijlani, Arti Singh, and more were present at Sidharth’s funeral. In the photographs and videos from the funeral, Shehnaaz was visibly devastated. The actress was crying uncontrollably, and a video of hers shouting Sidharth’s name left fans heartbroken. Sidharth’s mother, Rita Shukla, too, was in tears at the cremation.
It’s a difficult time for the family, and several celebrities also bashed paparazzi for invading the privacy of Sidharth’s friends and family members at the funeral. Many of them urged the photographers to let the family grieve in peace.
