Actor Sidharth Shukla was in the news recently on his birthday (December 12), when he got some goons arrested after they harassed his brother-in-law’s staff members in Versova. However, the next morning a video shot by one of the offenders started doing the rounds, making it seem like it was case of drunk driving. A day later though, there were more videos released by bystanders, which revealed the truth.

We tried reaching out to Sidharth regarding this incident. Initially, he did not wish to comment, but after some prodding, he spoke about it. He said, “Whatever happened is all out there; I think there have been a couple of video clips of the incident that people have seen. I just have one thing to say that with the online space being so vast, some of these platforms are starved for news. Somebody said that I was drunk and that was the headline put out without any verification! It’s really sad that you have gone out to help someone and they make you out to be the wrong one. Of course, major part of the media got it right. They went on to see the videos the following day and put out correct information. It’s not like a person needs validation or recognition when he happens to do something good or he helps someone, but when it’s turned around and the person is accused of something, it leaves a bitter feeling in the heart. But I guess that’s life, so it’s okay.”

The incident, however, did not hamper his birthday celebrations, with wishes pouring in from all over. “The number of cakes, gifts, wishes and blessings that I got from people was amazing. Since childhood one is made to feel special on one’s birthday, but this was something else. There were countdowns online going on a month prior to my birthday. Then the best part was that many celebrated the day with people in oldage homes, at orphanages, some fed the hungry, some planted trees... it was all so beautiful,” said Sidharth.