On 1 April 2016, Pratyusha was found hanging back and according to her post-mortem report, the cause of death was declared asphyxia. However, her parents allege she was murdered by her boyfriend and passed off as suicide. And as said in the media multiple times, she was their only hope and that, her passing off has made their life miserable.

After Sidharth’s death on Thursday, Pratyusha’s father Shankar Banerjee has revealed that during the Covid-19 lockdown, Sidharth had ‘forcibly sent ₹20,000’ to him and his wife, and had also enquired about their well-being. In a new interview, Pratyusha Banerjee’s father said that Sidharth Shukla had been in touch with them after Pratyusha’s death in 2016. Shankar added that Sidharth would often ask him over WhatsApp messages if he could help them.

“I can’t understand how this happened. I considered him to be my son. During Balika Vadhu, Sidharth and Pratyusha had become close friends. He used to come home as well. After Pratyusha’s death, many people talked about the relationship between Sidharth and my daughter, because of which Sidharth had stopped coming home. He often asked me in messages on WhatsApp,” India Today quoted Shankar as saying in an interview with AajTak.

Shankar also said, “During this lockdown, he used to constantly message me. I got his last message a couple of months ago. He used to ask in the message ‘Uncle, aunty do you need help?’, ‘Are you guys fine?’, ‘Can I help in any way?’ He had forcibly sent ₹20,000.”

Shehnaaz Gill: Shukla first shared the screen with Shehnaaz in the reality show Bigg Boss season 13 and since then, became the couple goals of the entire country. It is rumoured that they were in a relationship too. Even his last professional appearance was with Gill in Bigg Boss OTT. Together known as #SidNaaz, they were also seen in music videos like ‘Bhula Dunga’ and ‘Shona Shona’.

Rashami Desai: Siddharth and Rashami always shared a hate-love relationship. They first shared the screen in a daily soap named ‘Dil Se Dil Tak’ and were later seen in Bigg Boss 13. Even though they didn’t like each other, their professional chemistry as #SidRa was loved immensely.

Sonia Rathee: The actor shared the screen with Rathee in Alt Balaji’s ‘Broken but Beautiful 3’ and this OTT release went such a big hit that it was rumoured that this couple would return on screen again in a new season.

Neha Sharma : Neha shared screen with Shukla in Neha Kakkar’s one of the international hits, ‘Dil ko Karaar Aaya’. This couple made the entire internet fall in love with them and we couldn’t keep adoring Sidharth’s charm in this music video.

Pavitra Punia: Bigg Boss 14 fame Pavitra shared the screen with Sidharth in Star Plus’s Love U Zindagi in 2011and again in Bigg Boss 14 when he entered the house as a guest challenger. Pavitra also shared a post on his demise.

Aastha Chaudhary: Dating back in 2008, Aastha was the first actor he was paired opposite in his acting debut, Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na on Sony TV. They became a popular household Jodi who the nation loved and lived with.

Pratyusha Banerjee: One of Shukla’s popular TV stints that made him a star overnight was Colors TV’s Balika Vadhu where he was playing the main lead opposite Pratyusha. Though later Pratyusha was replaced with Toral Rasputra, their pair reflected the lives of real-life traditional couples.

Though there have been multiple changes in leads of this show, Pratyusha Banerjee as ‘Anandi’ and Sidharth Shukla as ‘Shiv’ will forever be remembered in our hearts. Other than them, people’s favourite Surekha Sikri as ‘Dadi-Sa’ ruled the television for a long nine years. And in an uncertain turn of events, we lost these gems who were our household name for such a long time.

Pratyusha Banerjee was found hanging in her Mumbai apartment on 1 April 2016 and according to the post-mortem report, the cause of death was asphyxia. However, her parents allege she was murdered by her boyfriend and passed off as suicide. Surekha Sikri, wherein, died on 16 July this year at the age of 76 because of the same reason as Sidharth Shukla, allegedly by cardiac arrest. Reportedly, she was also suffering from the complications of two previous brain strokes.

This year, Colors has launched the reboot of Balika Vadhu and if we sit down to watch any of its episodes, our eyes will surely get wet from the nostalgia. Today after Sidharth’s demise, his PR team released a statement saying “We have a request. We really want all of you to respect and stand with us during these tough times. As Sidharth’s PR team, we humbly request the media to draw a line and give his family and loved one’s space and let them grieve”. “We are all in pain! We are as shocked as you are! And all of us knew Sidharth was a private person, so please respect his privacy, his family’s privacy. And please pray for His Soul To Rest in Peace,” the team added.