I owe a lot to Balika Vadhu - Siddharth Shukla

Popular TV actor Siddharth Shukla will soon be exiting Balika Vadhu as his character will be killed to take the story forward. Soon, the audience will see Shiv being killed by terrorists. The charecter will die a hero and then the track will focus on his wife Anandi dealing with the tragedy and coping with being a single mother to newly-born twins.

Siddharth, however, is not too worried about exiting a show that made him a household name in a short span of time, given that he has already made a Bollywood debut with Karan Johar's Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya.

Thanks to Balika Vadhu and Babul Ki Aangan Chootey Na, Siddharth is hugely popular today. He, however, humbly says, "I opted to do television serials before jumping into Bollywood because I didn't know how to act. The only choice was to do an acting course which would have taken three months. I opted for television as I wasn't financially well off. Television was the only way I could learn and act at the same time."

Talking about his character in Balika Vadhu ending, he says, "I am shooting for the show for a week longer. I owe a lot to Balika... because I got work after people saw me on the show. I owe a lot to television and the show both. A lot of credit goes to my co-stars and also to my previous show Babul Ka Aangan Chootey Na; also my director was brilliant. I learnt the ABCD of acting because he taught me."

But isn't he slightly worried about leaving the show because it can be tough to get another lead role in a hit show? "I am not scared or insecure about the future. Besides I really need to unwind from my hectic work schedule."

The actor has no hard feelings about the production house's decision to end his role as he was told well in advance about the storyline. "I was aware that my character would end. It was probably the idea of the creatives," he says, adding, "But I have no grievances whatsoever, I was updated about it much in advance."

After spending almost all his time with his co-stars during work, won't it be strange not to see them every day? Whom will he miss the most from sets? "I will miss them but unfortunately you can't stay in touch with everyone. That's life and besides there will be new people entering my life."

After his final shoot for the show wraps up, Siddharth, like all TV actors do, will go on a much-deserved holiday to relax and unwind after working non-stop for months at an end. Next up on his agenda is to spend time with his mother.

And what next on the work front? Any movies? Siddharth confesses that he hasn't got any Bollywood offers. "I shall choose roles only if the character is appealing to me," says the actor who initially thought someone was playing a prank on him when Dharma Productions got in touch with him to act in HSKD. The movie offers may not be pouring in yet, but on the TV front people are already offering him work. He has gotten an offer from Savdhan India and Siddharth says he is thinking about it.

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