RIP Sidharth Shukla: Old, rare VIRAL photos of late actor prove he was always meant to be a star

Sidharth Shukla passed away at the age of 40 after suffering a massive heart attack in Mumbai's Cooper Hospital today. He is survived by his mother and two sisters. Born on December 12, 1980, Sidharth was born to Ashok Shukla, a civil engineer employed at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and his mother, Rita Shukla, a homemaker.

Sidharth made his debut on television in 2008 with 'Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na', and rose to immense fame with his breakthrough role in 'Balika Vadhu'. He later also went on to act in Karan Johar-produced 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' alongside Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. 

However, before his successful stint in TV and films, Sidharth was a popular model and walked the ramp for some of the most renowned designers. 

Check out this photo of Sidharth Shukla after winning a modeling contest

Notably, Sidharth completed his bachelor's degree in interior design and later went on to work in an interior designing firm.

Check out his photos from early modeling days

For the unversed, in 2005, Sidharth had also represented India at the World's Best Model contest in turkey. He was the first Indian and the first Asian to win the title which had 40 other contestants from across Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

On the work front, Sidharth was seen alongside Diljit Dosanjh in the 2018 movie 'Soorma'. He recently tasted success with his stint on the reality show 'Bigg Boss 13', where he emerged as the winner. The actor's last screen outing was Ekta Kapoor's insanely popular show 'Broken But Beautiful 3' in which he played the role of Agastya.