Sidharth Shukla On His Bigg Boss 13 Journey and Life After Triumph

Indian television’s heartthrob and one of the most eligible bachelors, Sidharth Shukla had an incredibly tough journey in the Bigg Boss 13 house.

He has always been vocal about his opinion and stood up for his friends inside the house. Whilst people conveniently judge him for his anger, there is a story of grit and undying spirit.

If we think about it, Shukla has faced a plethora of emotions – be it happiness, sadness or pain. At the same time, he also experienced friendship, love, competition and rivalry.

Even after facing illness, he did not give up and gave a tough fight in every sense. Like a soldier, Sidharth definitely stood out in the game.

Regardless, he has emerged as the winner and he joins Filme Shilmy for an exclusive chat on his journey to success. 

Congratulations on winning Bigg Boss 13. How has life been for you after spending 4 months or more in the house?

To be honest, I haven’t really got the taste of being outside because I haven’t really been out that much.

The only time I’ve had an interaction with people is at the gym due to me continuously shooting post the show.

For the past 2/3 days, I’ve been shooting, so I haven’t really gone ‘out’ and meet people. But on the way, the kind of reaction I have received is very overwhelming.

I’m so indebted to them (‘SidHearts’), I don’t know how to ever repay the kind of love and support these people have showered on me… It’s so amazing. I feel so good.

Initially, you seemed to be an easy target for being provoked. From where did you gather the strength to tackle the problems and negativity?

I don’t know if I was an easy target for anybody because I don’t think I took anything lying down and that’s not the way I’ve been built.

The first few times when things happen, you tend to reply more patiently but when you have to keep repeating the same thing you tend to lose your cool and get slightly irritable.

Although you may have seen on the show otherwise, my perception is that I’m actually not that short-tempered.

It’s simply the repetition part of it which slightly puts you off your happy space. I think that’s exactly what happened.

Asim and yourself shared a close-knit rapport before it got sour. You being the more experienced one, do you feel it would’ve been better to explain things more calmly to him rather than emphasising on parting ways?

I actually did. There were a lot of times when I needed to make him understand, I would try to understand him… He would take things personally.

I would keep him comfortable and tell him things but after a point, it became very tedious for me to give him that hearing. It became slightly exhausting.

When you’ve been with someone for a month and a half and you still have trust issues where you say “you’ve not done this for me” is slightly disheartening and that’s exactly what happened.

That’s the reason why I believe we had the fallout. If you happen to tell me that I didn’t make him understand, I did. I tried a lot to make him comfortable.

There were a lot of people (in the house) who told me things about Asim and other people, but I wouldn’t really react to that.

That was not a reason for me to react towards anyone because I heard something from somebody else.

If someone puts their friendship on the line just because they’ve heard something or triggered you a certain way, I don’t think that’s the best way to be.

If you are good and a true friend, those things will never be a hindrance. Even when I heard a point of view, I’ve always heard others before putting my point across.

A team cannot work in 10 different directions. You have to go with one thought, so we stick to a single thought when we know it’s good or a winner.

According to me, it’s like that. But to him, it might be different.

Your rapport with Shehnaz is also liked a lot, but there were times when you both playfully raised hands at each other. Don’t you think that could come across as slightly problematic rather than amiable?

There was a lot of water that had passed under the bridge, things which one did not really expect… One is hurt because I invested a lot of emotions into that relationship.

I eventually found myself getting hurt when these things happen. But if you notice, I’ve never raised my hand first. If there’s been a nudge/push, it’s only after that I have reacted.

So I don’t remember once where I have reacted without a provocation. With each person, you have a different kind of a bond.

There are sometimes places where you let go… Within friends, you yourself would set a limit for somebody, it really depends how that comes across and how you take that as a person.

The way it was happening was with a lot of aggression both ways from me and Asim towards each other.

But not so much between Shehnaz and me. Shehnaz wasn’t doing that just to provoke or insult me. She was doing it out of sentiments.

It was very difficult. So I don’t think I can weigh them together.

Now that you and Rashami are cordially co-existing ever be a chance of you working together again? Would you give the friendship with her a second chance?

I don’t know… Let’s see. It’s too comment on this as nothing has really come your way. You really don’t know. So let’s see.

Reflecting over, in what way do you think you could’ve responded differently to situations, without raising your voice or acting aggressively?

Of course, I wish that things could’ve been better and we wouldn’t have had to get into a position where we’ve got slightly physical with each other.

A lot of times, it would’ve been great if certain words to each other were not uttered. If there is something that I could change, from both the side it would be this.

But if not, then I’m pretty happy with my journey.

In the future, what active steps will you take to control your hot-headed and truculent temperament?

I don’t think I’ll encounter such situations more in life because I can’t see myself getting locked in a room with somebody so I doubt that these circumstances will arise that often.

But should such a situation arise, I have the choice to leave and never see that person again.

Unfortunately, you don’t have that liberty in the house.

A lot of people enter Bigg Boss in the hope of boosting their career. How many doors have opened up for you post the show?

Honestly, I wouldn’t really know yaar. If you notice, it’s just today that I’ve gotten to see the messages and the opportunity to revert to them.

Since the finale, I’ve been shooting and didn’t want to reply to some and leave others. I made it a point to reply to everyone.

Talking of social media yet, I haven’t even gone on to it. There wasn’t so much time on my hands these past few days, because I was working, but it’s good!

Post your debut in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, We were expecting to see more of you in Bollywood. Why do you think things went quiet for you on the film front?

I wouldn’t know why things went ‘quiet’. There was some work which came my way but I wasn’t so sure what I wanted to do.

At the same time, I’m not someone who is from the industry and there are a lot of people who aren’t.

But I wasn’t good at managing myself and should’ve had someone managing me better.

Having said that, I was getting a lot of television and I happened to take that up. It becomes tough, but let’s see.

I don’t really plan on anything but if something good comes my way, I like to take that up and seize the moment.

Having conquered the biggest reality shows in India, what are your hopes and ambitions now – personally and professionally?

The only work that I get, I just want to do it to the best of my ability and to stay in the present.

I’m a firm believer in that and if I do that, I’m sure everything else will follow.

Listen to the full interview with Sidharth Shukla here:

For 140 days, the country obsessed over each one of these contestants, millions tuned in every single day to follow their journey, social media was flooded with conversations and junta showered them with massive support.

Shukla emerged as the winner of the show and was conferred with the BB trophy and prize money of 50 lakhs.

On behalf of Filme Shilmy, here’s wishing him all the very best for this new milestone in his career!