Nostalgia: Unknown facts about Sidharth Shukla and Shehnaaz revealed

Sidharth Shukla’s untimely death at the mere age of 40 left everyone shocked and devastated. A close friend of Sidharth who insisted on being anonymous, emotionally pens what made Sidharth Shukla so special a man and why SidNaaz was not just a hashtag but the definition of pure love between Shehnaaz and Sid.

September 2 is a date that will be etched in our memory for as long as we shall live. A day we saw the universe challenge what we perceived as invincibility, our hearts broke as we saw a mother lose the center of her life, sisters lost their past, present and future, and last but certainly not least a woman that lost her world. A dark day for all those that developed an emotional attachment with an entity that took the world by storm forcing us to fall in love with his childlike personality and lion-like demeanor, our very own Siddharth Shukla, a man who inspired us to stand tall, be fearless and love without limit. Apart from having a personality that exudes awe-inspiring qualities of being never afraid to speak his mind, bold and confident, he left in his wake one of the most beautiful tales of love and loss that the world will never forget. Sidnaaz, a hashtag synonymous with devotion, care, passion and a love so deep it fills your core… a story that inspires you to hope to become somebody’s home, somebody’s world. I feel privileged that I had the opportunity to witness the transformation of the geeky teenage boy into what would become the larger than life Sid of Sidnaaz. I will forever be inspired by this incredible journey of pure love and light.

His close relationship with his mom helped him appreciate her role in his life and her contribution to the family. He learned to respect women in general because he didn’t have a need to make himself feel more important by putting down females around him. People lauded the fact that he was a rare male that truly recognized the strength of a woman as an equal hence never seeing them as helpless or inept. When his sister Neetu led the charge in voicing her opinion against Vijay Mallaya the head of Kingfisher who fled the country leaving thousands of employees without compensation, Siddharth was in complete awe of her conviction and articulation. He was not only proud as a brother, but admired her strength as a person and was clear that he aspired for such strength. Similarly he appreciated that his other sister Priti who was always vocal about social causes and kept a world view for the greater good. What was funny was that he would make these things clear but would still make them do nearly all his chores. However according to him, it had nothing to do with their gender, they were just better at it than him and he was entitled to the pampering cause he was cute (a quote directly from the horse’s mouth). For him, it was an exchange of care, from his side it was protection that he was quick to jump to, for that was his strong point and his role for those he loved, big or small he felt an internal need to shield all that he held dear from harm’s way. For his niece, he wanted to be the perfect Mama, to be there when she went through things her parents didn’t understand and most importantly, he was committed to doing his part to her having a blast for as long as she could. This is what made Sid of our modern day epic love story, a man who knew to truly love was to encourage empowerment of those you cared for.

Like many of you I was absolutely obsessed with BB13 and their antics. As a viewer, it made for a masala film with Siddharth as a hero, Shehnaaz as a heroine, and a slew of supporting characters to add to the pot. I was so engrossed that I forgot that I actually knew what at least Sid was like in real life and what I was witnessing was actually magical. Anyone who knew him saw that there was a very pure, very real love in his eyes for Shehnaaz that was akin to the limitless love we had only previously seen with his family. While the world attempted to label it, it was truly indefinable. At one point I remember instantaneously thinking that whatever this indefinable relationship was, it was authentic and sincere.

These two years post BB13, the world changed in ways we could never fathom. Stuck in a warp of distance and staying connected, many of us were frustrated and flustered. But from these two what I witnessed was contentment. When you forge bonds in a situation with a captive audience, you often wonder what that relationship will translate to in a world full of distractions, but when you see such bonds not only surviving but thriving, your heart

starts believing in the serendipity of finding something beautiful when not looking for it. I remember once in the middle of a phone conversation Sid suddenly screamed “Dodh garam hai”, and apparently ran across the room fearing Shehnaaz would burn herself. That level of awareness and total protection is something I can only dream of experiencing in my life. Sid always placed importance in feeding people; his upbringing had etched the sacredness of food and feeding others in him. On an occasion when out to dinner, he apparently would ensure that Shehnaaz was properly eating and even insisted she eat a bite more so that she didn’t deprive herself to an unhealthy level. Most of us have experienced that kind of love and care from only our mothers but with him and Shehnaaz, it was apparent at how all encompassing their love was. Once as friends teased him about his many fan girls his simple reply was that his life was complete with one girl with whom the bond was stronger than anyone he’d met.

Apart from the mutual care and protection, there was an incredible sense of empowerment you saw with the two of them especially when it came to work.

Sid was delighted to see how much Shehnaaz loved his work and encouraged his success; she would literally observe every detail and be giddy with excitement about his new experiences. This was a quality he said he always admired and found endearing. On the same token, he was committed to being supportive of Shehnaaz and her career but what was truly empowering is that he believed in her talent and was in love with her dedication. It’s sadly ironic that a section of people who posed as their fans ensued fan wars relating to two people that were each other’s biggest supporters and well-wishers throughout. Even they found it increasingly puzzling that such people existed when it was blatantly clear how important they were to one another. At the end they realized such specimens were simply frustrated souls that felt important when creating negativity. “Let them have their moment.” Sidharth once said.

At the end, one comes to the realization that this bond was in reality not for this world. Sid was once heard saying that relationships tag - whether it be mother-son brother-sister or husband-wife, are just for this world. In the spiritual sense, there are simply souls that love one another without a designation. This man lived his life on earth with the divinity of the universe beyond. This tag didn’t define him, he defined the tag - teaching the world a lesson about the purity of love. I chose to speak of this aspect of him because when it comes to his work, the achievements are selfexplanatory. Every realm he pursued from modeling, to television to films and lastly, a record breaking successful web series are a testament to his talent and unrelentingly hard work. We watched it not because Siddharth starred in it, but because it was incredibly good! But this bond that was seen by the world exhibited the incredibly unique soul he was, this one bond was a culmination of all the bonds he was made up of, all full of power, peace and tranquility. The story of Sidnaaz may be seemingly broken due to its untimely end in this world but in reality, I’ve never seen anything more beautiful and timeless.