'Balika Vadhu' actress Pratyusha Banerjee's father reveals Sidharth Shukla kept in touch, sent him money during lockdown

TV actor Sidharth Shukla passed away on September 2 at the age of 40. His sudden death has left many in shock, including late actress Pratyusha Banerjee's father, Shankar Banerjee, who remembered Shukla in an interview.

Banerjee informed aajtak.in that Shukla was in touch with him since the passing of Pratyusha Banerjee in 2016. The two had worked together in the hit TV show 'Balika Vadhu'.

"I do not understand how this has happened. I considered Sidharth to be my son," Banerjee said. He further added that Shukla used to visit them at home often but after Pratyusha's death, when people started talking about the actor's relationship with his daughter, he stopped coming home.


"But he kept in touch with me in messages through WhatsApp and would ask if we needed help," Banerjee said.

The late actress' father also revealed that Shukla even helped them financially by insisting on sending money during the lockdown. "He used to constantly message me during the lockdown asking if we are fine. 'Can I help in any way?' he would ask. He had even sent Rs 20,000 to us," Banerjee added during the interview.

Pratyusha, who died on April 1, 2016, starred alongside Sidharth Shukla in Colors TV show 'Balika Vadhu'. The show helped the two rise to fame. Shukla, who started his career as a model, had appeared in numerous TV shows and was a known face in Indian household.

He recently appeared in the reality TV show 'Bigg Boss' season 13 where he emerged as the winner. The actor had made his Bollywood debut with 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' that starred Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in lead roles.