Asim Riaz hopes to see his 'brother' Sidharth Shukla in heaven, visits Cooper Hospital

Asim Riaz took to Instagram to remember his former Bigg Boss 13 co-contestant (and rival) Sidharth Shukla. Sidharth died on Thursday at the age of 40.

Asim Riaz, who appeared on Bigg Boss 13 with the late Sidharth Shukla, posted a social media message in his memory on Thursday. Sidharth died of a heart attack earlier in the day, and was taken to the Cooper Hospital in Mumbai. Asim was also seen at the hospital on Thursday afternoon.

Sidharth Shukla and Asim Riaz on Bigg Boss 13.

Asim Riaz, who had a tenuous relationship with Sidharth Shukla on Bigg Boss, shared a couple of pictures of the two of them together on the show, and wrote, "I m gonna meet you in heaven brother…R I P sidharthshukla."

Their co-contestant Himanshi Khurana had also taken to social media to express her sadness and shock at Sidharth's death. Scores of celebrities from the world of film and television also shared condolence messages on social media.

Asim Riaz at the Cooper Hospital.

Sidharth, who was Asim's main rival on Bigg Boss 13, eventually ended up winning the show, with Asim finishing as the first runner-up. They subsequently buried the hatchet. In 2020, Sidharth took to Twitter to congratulate Asim for making it to a list of ‘most desirable men in India’.

“Impressed with @imrealasim opening his account at #17 on 50 Most Desireable Men in India, congratulations. Happy #GaneshChaturthi everybody,” Sidharth tweeted. Asim appreciated the gesture and replied, “Hey @sidharth_shukla I Hope you doin well. I appreciate it. Thank you.”

In an interview given after Bigg Boss 13, Sidharth had said that he has a 'cool bond' with Asim. Reflecting on their equation, he told a leading daily, “When I sit back and think now, I laugh at those fights. My bond with Rashami and Asim is much cooler now, I hope (smiles). Whenever I meet either of them, I am sure we will have the same bond that we had towards the end of the show. I am somebody who likes to move forward and I like to have a very cordial and peaceful relationship with everybody around me. Now when everything is fine, whenever we meet, we will definitely have fun.”

Koena Mitra, who had also appeared on the same season of Bigg Boss, wrote in a tweet that Sidharth's death had taught her 'unconditional forgiveness'.