The audience found the perfect couple to root for in Vikrant Massey and Harleen Sethi as their love story progressed over two seasons of Broken But Beautiful. Now, television heartthrob Sidharth Shukla has taken on the mantle as he headlines the third season of the ALTBalaji and ZEE5 Club’s production. “Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to watch the show, but I know that it was immensely successful. Naturally, I am nervous. There is a bit of pressure as the first two seasons have fared well. Vikrant’s acting has been applauded, and people liked their chemistry,” says Shukla.
The series is all the more special to him as it marks his debut in digital entertainment. It is surprising that Shukla took so long to test the waters considering most TV stars have been web-bound. However, the actor says that he was in no hurry to jump on the bandwagon, instead preferring to make his foray with an impactful series.
“I have always been conscious about the kind of work I pick. This was no different — as soon as I heard the narration, I immediately wanted to do it. [The digital medium] is the way to move forward. People are so creative out here. A [wide section] of the audience has changed their taste, and want to watch more of new content,” he says. Impressed as he is by the wave of change that OTT platforms have brought on, one won’t find the actor hooked on a series or binge-watching late into the night. “I haven’t watched too many web shows. I know I sound ancient when I say that, especially when the whole world is hooked to the web. But I prefer to watch news channels.”
In fact, though he has been part of the television industry for over 12 years — with shows that include Balika Vadhu, Dil Se Dil Tak and Bigg Boss 13 — Shukla sheepishly admits that he was never one to watch daily soaps. “I am proud of the projects I did on TV. But I usually did not comment on TV shows because I simply did not watch them. Of course, daily soaps were my bread and butter, but I am not their target audience. We often accuse TV shows of being regressive, but they have a huge target audience that wants to view these shows.”
Hopefully, he will discover a series better suited to his taste on the web as he becomes an active part of this world. The actor is slated to begin shooting for Broken…But Beautiful 3 by January 2021. The show that explores heartbreak and unrequited love, will present a new chapter with its latest edition. “I liked the journey that my character goes through emotionally. I have faced something similar in my life, so I could connect to it immediately.”
The series marks his first collaboration with Ekta Kapoor. “I have never met Ekta. She is fantastic at her work and understands the pulse of the audience. Producers don’t necessarily come for the narrations, so she wasn’t there during the reading of Broken…. I am looking forward to meeting her.”
