Sidharth Shukla was an Indian actor, host and a model, born on 12 December, 1980, and was a popular face on television and Bollywood films. Having won millions of hearts over time, the man soon became a national heartthrob not only for his exceptional acting skills and onscreen presence but also his charming demeanour, a handsome face and a super-dapper personality. However, he rose to fame after winning to controversial reality show Bigg Boss 13,which gave him a massive fan base. Sidharth’s onscreen chemistry with his Bigg Boss co-contestant, the very popular Punjabi artist, Shehnaaz Gill, became super popular and the two were often paired and shipped together by fans and audience alike. The couple became famously and are fondly known as “SidNaaz," and the two were recently seen sharing screen space with Karan Johar on the Bigg Boss OTT stage. Sidharth passed away on the morning of September 2, suffering a massive cardiac arrest, after he complained of chest pain the previous night, only to be rushed to the Cooper Hospital, however, unfortunately he was declared dead on arrival. This news came out as a shock for his friends and fans. Remembering the late actor and Bigg Boss 13 winner, let’s have a look back at Sidharth’s memorable life journey, right from his modelling days to his latest OTT debut.
1. Good old Modelling Days!
Before Sidharth made his mark in acting, he tried his hands at modelling, and boy was he super successful! Isn’t it obvious, the man owns what every other one desires to possess too, good looks, dashing personality and charming demeanour. Sidharth turned out to be the runner-up in the ‘Gladrags Manhunt and Megamodel Contest', followed by the man acing several other modelling projects, only the land the biggest and the proudest of his achievements of the time, when he won the title of 'World's Best Model' held in Turkey, creating history of being the first ever Indian as well as Asian man to do so.
2. Television Debut and breakthrough with ‘Balika Vadhu'
As obvious, after making his mark in modelling, Sidharth went on to pursue acting, and bagged his first ever television show with 'Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na', where he was seen playing the lead. Sidharth went on to feature in several other television projects only to bag the biggest of all projects back then, his breakthrough role as Shivraj Shekhar in ‘Balika Vadhu’, making him a sensation and a household name quite soon.
3. From Reality Shows to Bollywood Debut
Indeed, reality shows do help boost stardom and help you bag greater opportunities to come, as proven by Sidharth Shukla. The late actor went on to feature in several reality shows, and acing them completely, be it ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 6’, ‘Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 7’ and many more. He won his season of ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi' and impressed one of the judges of the dance reality show and the Bollywood biggie, Karan Johar, enough to be promised a Bollywood movie under his banner of ‘Dharma Productions'. Keeping up to his promise, Karan Johar casted Sidharth in his movie ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania', alongside lead pair, Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, that went on to become a great success, marking Sidharth’s big screen debut.
4. Hosting reality shows and back to TV
After ruling over millions of hearts as a popular and loved television face as well as having featured in KJo's movie, Sidharth took an exit from ‘Balika Vadhu’ and bagged some hosting gigs, with a couple of reality shows like ‘India’s Got Talent' along with Bharti Singh and ‘Savdhaan India’.He then made his return to television with yet another show ‘Dil Se Dil Tak' as the leading man alongside two very popular leading lady duo, Jasmin Bhasin and Rashami Desai, which was highly praised and showered with love by fans and viewers for Sidharth and Rashami’s classic onscreen couple chemistry.
5. Another Biggie: Bigg Boss 13
There’s no star who has received as much love and adulation as Sidharth Shukla has, throughout his career, but more so through his entry in the iconic reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ season 13, as a celebrity contestant. His sizzling chemistry and friendly banter with co-contestant and a popular Punjabi artist, Shehnaaz Gill was much loved by the audience, and the duo soon became fondly referred to as “SidNaaz”, featuring in several shows and music videos together. Sidharth went ahead to grab the prestigious trophy of the season and was conferred upon the ‘winner’ title by host, Salman Khan, beating Azim Riyaz who emerged as the first runner-up. This didn’t come out to be a surprise, as people’s votes together with this brilliant gameplay helped him garner this achievement.
6. OTT Debut with ‘Broken But Beautiful 3’
How can Sidharth be unintroduced to OTT platform after having tried his hands at and also gained excellence on several platforms and formats throughout his career. He made his digital debut with Ekta Kapoor's romance web series ‘Broken But Beautiful’ season 3, on ALTBalaji, and was seen portraying Agastya Rao, alongside the leading lady and his onscreen love interest, Sonia Rathee, in the character of Rumi Desai. Immensely loved and appreciated by the audience, the show revolved around sizzling chemistry, love, heartbreak, and unending saga of romance.