TOI - Whatever I am today is because of TV: Siddharth Shukla

Actor Siddharth Shukla, who will be making his filmy debut soon, credits his success to TV shows.

I WILL NEVER LEAVE TV Actor Siddharth Shukla is absolutely certain that he will not leave television. After signing a three film deal with producer director Karan Johar, Siddharth is making his Bollywood debut with Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. While in Lucknow to promote the show Balika Vadhu, in which he plays Shivraj Anoop Shekhar, Anandi's husband, Siddharth says that he will try and work out a balance between TV and films. "Whatever I am today is because of television, so I will never leave TV completely. As it is, films are a new experience for me where as TV is a known medium. A lot of credit for my success today goes to the serial Balika Vadhu," says the tall good looking actor.

BALIKA IS NOT AT THE END OF ITS ROAD Defending his show Siddhartha says that viewers are still loving his show. "See, everyone at some point of time feels a little lazy and drained out. Similarly for a TV show too. Kabhi achha lagta hai, kabhi nahi. This see-saw thing goes on everywhere but that doesn't mean you put an end to it. In fact later, you will work doubly hard to make up for that complacency. Same is the case with our show. We are constantly coming up with new tracks to keep the viewers attracted to the show. And it's simple, had the show not been doing well, the channel wouldn't have kept giving us extensions. It's been running strong for the past six years. There's a lot more left to do in Balika...," says he.

TV IS NOT A FEMALE DOMINATED MEDIUM Siddharth doesn't feel that content on TV is women oriented. "Nothing can work without a balance. I agree Balika... initially focused mainly on Anandi, but over the years, even the men are getting their due. In fact I feel that goes for all shows on TV. There are no leads in a serial. Mainly because a story can't function with just one person. At some point or the other, every character gets prominence over the others and they become the lead in the show at that time. For instance in Balika..., the focus is on my character Shiv these days, so in that sense I am the lead," says Siddharth with a smile.

NO TIME FOR LOVE Touted as one of the most eligible bachelors of the small screen, Siddharth takes the compliment with a question , "Really? Where are the girls?, adding, "I like the company of women but given my present situation I am sure no girl would like to date me. I have such a busy schedule from 5 am to 11 pm, that I can't devote time to anyone however much I may like to. For the time being I have to remain single," says he with a shrug.