Sidharth, mera bacha! Inconsolable Shehnaaz Gill's final words on late actor's last rites

New Delhi: Famous television and film actor Sidharth Shukla's untimely demise left millions heartbroken. Amid heavy rainfall, his grieving family members, celeb friends and an ocean of fan following bid Sidharth a tearful goodbye. He was 40. 

The late actor's last rites were performed at Oshiwara crematorium in the afternoon on September 3, 2021. Although initial reports suggest he died of a heart attack, the exact cause of his death is yet to be ascertained. 

A host of celebrities mourned his shocking demise and an ocean of TV stars rushed to the crematorium to pay their last respects. Actress Sambhavna Seth along with her husband Avinash Dwivedi also visited the Oshiwara crematorium for the antim darshan. 

Sambhavna, in an interview with ETimes.com, shared the heartbreaking moments from late actor's funeral. She talked about how close friend Shehnaaz Kaur Gill was inconsolable and even broke down crying non-stop. 

"Sidharth mera bachcha', Shehnaaz said and before the body was put on the platform for the pyre to be lit, it was kept for some time for everyone to pay their last respects. At this moment, Shehnaaz sat down at Sidharth's feet. Post that, she even took part in the rituals", recalled Sambhavna.

She also added, " I supported him (Sidharth Shukla) a lot from the outside and he had called me to thank me for that. He was sitting with Vindu when he made that call to me. Vindu said 'come over, let's party'. I said 'some other time pukka'. Little did I know uske baad milenge to aise milenge."

Talking about Sid's mother Rita Shukla, Sambhavna said, "Aunty was emotional but trying to be strong. Yesterday, I thought she was stronger. But not so much, today. It's not going to be easy for her to overcome this. Dheere dheere jab log chale jayenge, it hits you harder. Hamari hi aisi haalat hai ki poocho mat. Agar yeh ho sakta hai toh kuch bhi ho sakta hai. We are hearing so many tragedies almost regularly since the past one-and-half years. It seems that the world is coming to an end."

Several celebrities from the television and film industry came to offer condolences at Sidharth Shukla's residence and later at the Oshiwara Crematorium. Sidharth's mother was accompanied by family members as she headed for her son's last rites.

Close friend Shehnaaz Gill was accompanied by her brother Shehbaaz and looked completely heartbroken. She was teary-eyed and inconsolable. This was her first appearance since the unfortunate and untimely demise of Sidharth Shukla. 

He died on September 2, with many suspecting it to be a heart attack. His viscera samples have been sent to a forensic laboratory for examination though initial reports did not reveal any signs of unnatural death, police and hospital sources told PTI. 

The autopsy report of the actor did not mention the exact cause of death, said a police officer on Friday. "

On the face of it, there were no signs of unnatural death but the opinion has been reserved," he said, adding that the exact cause of death will be known after reports of chemical analysis of the viscera and histopathology tests were received.