News Broadcasting
Remembering Sidharth Shukla: Perception and reality
“Absolutely shocked and stunned on learning about the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput! Unbelievable! Sincere condolences and prayers for his family. Rest in peace..#SushantSinghRajput”
When TV and film actor Sidharth Shukla posted this tweet on 20 July 2020, little did he know or even guess that the whole of social media would be buzzing, with tweets and messages pouring in by the tens of thousands mourning his own passing away. Most of them expressed utter shock, disbelief, and numbness that the absolutely fighting fit Sidharth had indeed passed onto the other world.
His early death at just 40 will surely see him attain legendary status, just like Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise did for him. Or even James Dean did in the previous century.
Sidharth has a following that runs into millions – nay, hundreds of millions. He has a popularity that is akin to many big Bollywood stars.
We at Indiantelevision.com had signed him to perform at the height of his popularity during “Balika Vadhu” days for the Indian Telly Awards. With tight and long shooting schedules, he still found time to come rehearse for his act late into the night past the midnight hour.
But apparently, he would have liked more rehearsals. He was a tight bundle of energy waiting to explode, go on stage and complete his performance, on the evening of The Indian Telly Awards gala. One of the backstage crew said he was upset as there was a reshuffling of acts as one of his co-performers was not yet ready. “He’s extremely agitated,” said he. “We will have to calm him down.”
So we called Indiantelevision.com and the Indian Telly Awards founder Anil Wanvari to speak with him. Wanvari took him aside and asked him what the problem was. Sidharth explained he had had a rough shooting schedule and that he was expected on his sets the next day for an early morning shoot. He kept pacing around saying he wanted to go home.
Wanvari, putting his arm around his shoulder, gave him a bottle of water to sip, and spoke to him like he was his son, and explained to him why there was a delay in his multi-star dance act. He also told Sidharth that it is important that he dances as the performance would be incomplete without him, and his partner would not have anyone to dance with her. Wanvari’s soothing voice helped and we saw his sweaty face which had anger written all over it, soften and then break into a smile.
When his turn came to go on stage to dance, he performed like his life depended on it. The audience broke into applause. Wanvari went up to him and thanked him for his patience and for putting in his best into the performance. Sidharth only smiled shyly, his eyes crinkling and he looked away.
From thereon, the young man went on to achieve even greater fame and fan-following. Some controversial publications wrote about his occasional outbursts, while others talked about his better side. Initially, he used to react strongly to all the negative reports but recently had learned to laugh at them. Said he in a tweet recently: “Being reading a few newz articles …. Least said they are hilarious….. bhayi eye balls he Chahiyea tho kuch positive likh lo ….itni negativity kaha se latte ho…How do you’ll manage to know more about me better than me… least I can say .. may God bless you all.”
The educated, well-spoken interior design graduate who became a model and then shot to fame with “Balika Vadhu” and then climbed even higher with “Bigg Boss 13”, appears to have made peace with himself and with industry pressures. His posts clearly showed he had a sharp and intuitive mind. May his soul rest in peace!
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
