Asim Riaz, Sidharth Shukla and Salman Khan from Bigg Boss 13 finale. (courtesy: asimriaz.worldwide)
Sidharth Shukla's sudden death in 2021 came as a shock to his friends, fans and members of the entertainment industry. Over a year later, fans and colleagues continue to celebrate the actor in numerous ways. A case in point is fans trending the actor's name on Twitter as a hashtag on Thursday and sharing his old videos and images. The Twitter trend comes close on the heels of Sidharth Shukla's fellow Bigg Boss finalist Asim Riaz claiming in an interview that Sidharth's win on the show was rigged. Asim Riaz and Sidharth Shukla started as close friends on the show, however, cracks soon appeared in their bond as the show proceeded. Now, Asim's new remarks have left Sidharth's fans fuming with many sharing their displeasure on social media.
It all started when Asim Riaz, in an interview with RJ Siddharth Kanan, said that the outcome of the show was predetermined in Sidharth Shukla's favour. In the clip, Asim says, “Mere dauran unhone kya kiya just because they didn't want to make me win... they declared aaj hi hum online voting khol denge. 15 minute ke dauran... jeetana hai jeetao jisko (The Bigg Boss makers did not want me to win. They opened an online voting option for 15 minutes to ensure who they preferred won). Come on man, just say you don't want me to win. You made it so obvious that we had to believe that you did it. Whatever. But I was like - ‘okay'.”
Take a look at Asim Riaz's comments here:
Needless to say, Asim Riaz's statements gained a lot of attention from Bigg Boss viewers and Sidharth Shukla's fans. Following the interview, singer Shehbaz Badesha shared a tweet that said, "Some people still don't understand sher ek hi hai aur ek hi rehta hai (there is only one lion)," which fans believe is a dig at Asim.
For the unversed, Shehbaz Badesha is the brother of actress Shehnaaz Gill. Shehnaaz and Sidharth were rumoured to be dating after the show and at the time of the actor's death.
Shehnaaz Gill was also a contestant on Bigg Boss alongside Sidharth Shukla and Asim Riaz and earned widespread praise for her performance in the reality show and her bond with Sidharth.
In the same interview, Asim Riaz also claimed that he dreamt of Sidharth Shukla before the actor's death. Asim said: “He came in my dream, brother. I swear. I knew it before...I have spent 140 days with him in that (Bigg Boss) house. I was really connected because I had no friends outside and aisa connection kisi se hua hi nahi kabhi bhai. Matlab ladna toh 4-4 din, hasna toh 4-4 din (I didn't have a connection with anyone else like this before. We fought and laughed together.)"
Sidharth Shukla died of a heart attack in September 2021. He was 40.