Sidharth Shukla, the strapping actor with one of the best smiles in showbusiness, passed away after a heart attack on Thursday morning. He was 40 and is survived by his mother and two sisters. The news, understandably, sent the worlds of screens small and big — of which the model-turned-actor had been an integral part — into shock. Sidharth, by all appearances, had been fighting fit, and had recently made an appearance on the current season of the reality show Bigg Boss, which is being streamed before its TV launch, as well as on the Colors dance reality show Dance Deewane.

Good-looking and blessed with tremendous screen presence as well as praiseworthy acting chops, Sidharth had everything that was needed to make it big in the world of show business. More importantly, he was the man with the Midas touch. Hailed as the ‘king of reality television’, almost everything that Sidharth touched turned into TRP gold.

A popular model since his 20s, Sidharth was a runner-up in the 2004 Gladrags Manhunt and Megamodel Contest. The following year, he represented India at the World’s Best Model contest held in Turkey, and became the first Indian, as well as the first Asian, to win the title, beating 40 contestants from across the globe. That landed Sidharth a bunch of TV ads and before long, he gave up a career in interior designing — he had a bachelor’s degree in interior design — to try his luck in acting.

THE EARLY DAYS

In 2008, Sidharth made his acting debut with a lead role in the Sony TV show Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na and then moved on to Star One’s Jaane Pehchaane Se... Ye Ajnabbi the following year. After sporadic appearances in shows like CID and Aahat, Love U Zindagi on STAR Plus, inspired by Jab We Met, earned him scores of female fans.

Pratyusha Banerjee and Sidharth Shukla in Balika Vadhu Sourced by the correspondent

His popularity was crowned by his breakthrough act in the seminal TV show Balika Vadhu. The Colors series — in which Sidharth played the quiet but swashbuckling Shivraj Shekhar — saw his stakes soar. Quite a few hearts were broken when his character was killed off the script, but by then Sidharth had firmly made a place for himself on the small screen.

BOLLYWOOD CALLING

After appearing in a few other shows, Sidharth hit pay dirt when Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions signed him on as the second lead opposite Alia Bhatt in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. The film, starring Varun Dhawan as its leading man, saw Sidharth moving away from the traditional NRI prototype. He made his presence felt, with most critics hailing him as “dashing”and “a talent to watch out for”. However, he couldn’t really capitalise on the film’s success — it earned upwards of Rs 100-crore and even won him an acting trophy — and rumours of a three-film deal with Dharma Productions died out. But Sidharth was not someone to fade out so soon.

A NEW INNINGS

Sidharth’s successful foray into the world of Indian reality TV began in 2016 with a win on Khatron Ke Khiladi, in which his natural agility and tenacity to take on tough tasks made him a fan favourite. This was preceded by a stint as host on the true crime drama show Savdhaan India and Season 6 of India’s Got Talent. His acting assignments became sporadic at this time, though he did leave a mark in Dil Se Dil Tak, with co-stars Rashami Desai and Jasmin Bhasin. After a break from acting, he had recently made a comeback with Season 3 of Broken But Beautiful.

THE BIGGEST BOSS

Sidharth’s decision to participate in Season 13 of Bigg Boss was responsible for the unprecedented popularity he has consistently enjoyed in the last two years. He was not only the most popular contestant on the Colors show, a poll carried out by the channel saw him being voted as the ‘Bigg Boss Greatest Of All Time’ (GOAT), where 16 popular contestants across all the previous 13 seasons were nominated for the title.

Unarguably, Sidharth was the most loved contestant that season, prompting the makers to extend the show by five weeks making it the longest season of Bigg Boss, and also its most watched. There was little doubt — despite stiff competition in the form of the much younger Asim Riaz — that he would win the title.

Inside the Bigg Boss house, Sidharth’s popularity was often attributed to his ability to keep a cool head under taxing circumstances, and his equation with co-contestant Shehnaaz Gill — the chemistry earned them the ship name of SidNaaz — became one of the major reasons for his win. Shehnaaz and Sidharth, post Bigg Boss, became a pair to bank on, making joint appearances in public and featuring in quite a few music videos.

SOCIAL MEDIA SENSATION

“You were truly loved, by millions”, is how actor Parineeti Chopra chose to pay tribute to Sidharth on Thursday. Sidharth’s fan following on social media was huge, with more than 6 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His fan clubs — with a large number of pages and followers on social media — are called ‘SidHearts’ and ‘Siddians’, with SidNaaz also boasting a large fandom. It was just the beginning of a promising life and career snuffed out by fate.

“Life’s too short to worry about what others say or think about you. Just enjoy life .. have fun … and give them something to talk about,” Sidharth had tweeted earlier this year. Rest in peace.