Vidyut Jammwal recalls heartfelt memories with Sidharth Shukla; Remembers him as a best friend and his first gym buddy

Popular Indian actor and model, Sidharth Shukla passed away on Thursday, September 2, at the age of 40, after suffering from a massive cardiac arrest, and is survived by his mother and two sisters.

The actor’s untimely demise sent shockwaves throughout the film fraternity and television, as Sidharth’s costars, fans, buddies as well as other popular TV and Bollywood personalities offered their condolences and last respects, and mourned the actor with heartfelt tributes and loving memories.

One of Sidharth’s closest and best friends, popular actor and ‘Commando’ fame, Vidyut Jammwal, has also taken to Instagram, to share a loving tribute while recalling some fond memories and heartwarming life moments that the two shared.

Vidyut, who began his modelling career together with Sidharth, went on to share a great bond with him, and describes the late actor as one of the best person that he’s ever met.

Sharing a video on Wednesday, September 8, Vidyut talked about Sidharth’s personality and morals, saying, “Sidharth Shukla is the only man I know who never took a woman’s name. When someone asked him if he had a scene with any woman, he would ignore that and not answer. I have never heard him mention a woman’s name. This is a great quality of a man.”

He further shared, “Our friendship dates back to 20 years. Sidharth Shukla has been my best friend because I never had that kind of friendship with anyone else. He was my first gym partner in Mumbai. I remember that in 2004, I had entered the gym and saw this very tall, good-looking guy. My cousin introduced me to him and since then, we became gym partners and eventually, good friends. So when I last met Sidharth, I told him, ‘You are the only guy in my life whose clothes I remember when I first met’. I had some of my best training sessions with him. He just had one mantra — ‘To be the man, you have to beat the man’.”

Speaking about his last rendezvous with Sidharth, the ‘Khuda Haafiz’ actor shared, “On July 15, I got a call from him asking to meet. When he reached, he said that there was a lot of media outside. We talked about the pap culture and how actors call up photographers to click them on various locations. However, Sidharth Shukla never once called them. Media loved him a lot. He respected the paps. He was very gracious towards them.”