Aditya Shukla opens up on his bond with cousin Sidharth Shukla: We were always there for each other

Sidharth Shukla’s untimely passing last year in September had left the nation in shock and grief. Sidharth’s cousin Aditya Shukla recently opened up about the beloved late actor and the bond the two shared.

In conversation with TOI, Aditya spoke of how he and Sidharth had not spoke much about each other as they both wanted to keep their bond ‘lowkey’. Aditya said that he was inspired to talk about his cousin now as he wanted the world to know that Sidharth had a big, loving family who were always there for him.

Aditya recalled how the two had spent some good times together when they were young. The actor spoke of how his mother’s office had been near to Sidharth’s home and the former would visit the latter whenever he could. “Later, when he got busy with his work, we didn’t get much time together, but we were always there for each other”, Aditya said.

Aditya spoke of how Sidharth had inspired him to become an actor. The former’s mother, Shielly Shukla, was an actress who currently star in the show Mithai, and she had wanted Aditya to be an actor too. It wasn't until Aditya saw Sidharth’s career that he wanted to take up acting, asking the late actor for advice on how to get started in the profession. Aditya would ask Sidharth about challenges and the late actor used to guide his cousin through them.

The actor went on to say that although he was happy with the choices he made, he still wanted to explore much more, and had a long way to go. Aditya had made his on screen debut in 2015 in the TV show Jab Jab Bahar Aaye. The actor can currently be seen in the series Ishq Ki Daastan Naagmani, which stars Aleya Ghosh in the lead.