A team of three doctors has been formed to conduct a post-mortem following the death of actor Sidharth Shukla, which will be recorded on video, and a report is due today, officials said.
According to hospital sources, Siddharth Shukla was brought to Cooper Hospital around 10:30 am by his family. An examination revealed that he had had already died. The cause of death will be known only after post-mortem, they added.
Police sources said the body will be kept at the post-mortem centre at night and handed over to his family at 9 am. The preliminary report of the post-mortem is expected to be received today.
A popular television and film actor who became a household name with his role in the long-running TV show ‘Balika Vadhu’, Sidharth Shukla died on Thursday. He was 40. He is survived by his mother and two sisters.
Though some reports suggested a heart attack, the cause of his sudden death, which sent shockwaves through the industry and TV fandom and ignited fresh debate on the pulls and pressures of showbiz, was not immediately clear. According to his friends, Sidharth Shukla felt uneasy last night and did not wake up this morning.
The Mumbai-born actor’s family issued a statement through his public relations team requesting the media to draw a line and “give his family and loved ones space and let them grieve”.
“We are all in pain. We are as shocked as you are. And all of us knew Sidharth was a private person, so please respect his privacy, his family’s privacy. And please pray for his soul to rest in peace,” it said.
Sidharth Shukla began his career as a model and made his acting debut with a lead role in the TV show ‘Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na’. He later appeared on shows such as ‘Jaane Pehchaane Se… Ye Ajnabbi’, ‘Love U Zindagi’ but it was ‘Balika Vadhu’ that made him famous.
Other than ‘Bigg Boss 13’, Sidharth Shukla participated in other reality shows, including ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6’ and ‘Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 7’.
In 2014, Sidharth Shukla made his Bollywood debut with the Karan Johar-produced ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’.