Sidharth Shukla: Television’s darling, gone too soon

Sidharth Shukla in 'Bigg Boss 13' (screen grab).

As I digest the news of the untimely death of a young actor who set the small screen ablaze with his characters, I remember his tweet of a couple of months ago: Naam karo to kuch aisa ki log tumhe harane ki koshish nahi balki sazish karein (make such a name for yourself that people won't just try but conspire to bring you down).

To survive and thrive in the dog-eat-dog world of daily television soaps, actors must deal with all kinds of personalities with egos that crash through the roof. And with love pouring in from fans across the TV soap viewing world, it was easy to understand the tweet from Sidharth Shukla.

Shukla, 40, suffered a heart attack this morning, and is no more. His 3.5 million Instagram followers and more TV watching fans (who are now watching Balika Vadhu on Voot and on YouTube) are just stunned.

His gentle persona of IAS officer Shivraj Shekhar made an impact the moment he got off the running SUV to save Anandi in Balika Vadhu and helped empower her character. These TV shows are mostly women-centric and the men are often just characters who leave the family dramas with their briefcases… to stand out in this set is a rare and underappreciated thing.

Shukla as Shivraj was different. Shivraj guiding Anandi served as an example of manliness with empathy and that is what earned him his fan base.

Sidharth Shukla played Parth Bhanushali in a series called Dil Se Dil Tak. I watched the love triangle until I realised that the show was based on the movie Chori Chori Chupke Chupke and 345 episodes was a distraction at that time. But the show is available for viewing on Voot. In this show, Shukla showed his acting chops as a husband who wants to have a family and comforts his wife when they realise conception is not as easy as they thought.

He has acted in Web series with as much passion as he did for daily television soaps. He contested in a dance show and even participated in Bigg Boss, and won.

It’s a pity that a man in his prime has had to leave behind parents who mourn him along with a legion of fans. I see the joy in his mother’s face in a Mothers' Day picture on his Instagram post and feel a deep sadness. I hope he finds peace, also fame in the soap operas in heaven.