Vishal Aditya Singh: Sidharth Shukla and I reconnected because of my stunt in ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’

Vishal Aditya Singh. Picture courtesy/PR

Vishal Aditya Singh impressed fans with his performance in Rohit Shetty's ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi‘ where he emerged as one of the finalists. The actor who landed in a controversy that made headlines in ‘Bigg Boss' is glad that the audience has moved on and is seeing the real him. Vishal speaks to midday online about both shows, his recent conversation with the late Sidharth Shukla and Ganesh Charturthi celebrations.

How does it feel to be a finalist on ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi'?
I'm glad people have loved me on ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi', the reaction of fans is overwhelming. I can only thank viewers and consider myself blessed. I haven't learnt swimming and have Aqua phobia but still try to put it in my best performance. The show has always been my favourite, like most young boys I've always been fond of taking risks and daredevilry. Especially after ‘Bigg Boss' I wanted to do this show to move on from some unfortunate incidents there.

The incident that you mentioned with Madhurima Tuli on ‘Bigg Boss' keeps cropping up and she had recently put up a video asking people to move on…

I don't have any regrets after all it wasn't a small incident and it happened on a huge pan India show like ‘Bigg Boss'. The truth is viewers will remember it for a lifetime but as an individual I wanted to move on from it. Now if anybody brings up that incident I just laugh it off. Two adults were part of that silly incident but I can't keep thinking about it all my life and would rather focus on my upcoming projects.

The behind the scenes videos of the ‘Khatron…'cast have also been going viral…

When you are in a good frame of mind, everything you do is a success. That's exactly what happened with ‘Khatron'... In ‘Bigg Boss' I wasn't myself which is why I couldn't enjoy it though it became a big hit. This time around I wasn't carrying any burden and I was really enjoying myself. Everyone around me was so much fun and we shared a genuine bond.

Also Read: Abhinav Shukla: Resisted the pressure to change my personality to be visible

Rohit Shetty can be quite a taskmaster, what was your rapport with him?
We share a guru-chela relationship. I never found him overtly strict or over the top. I'm glad he liked my performances, he would call me ‘danger aadmi' or ‘stunt wale ki buddhi ka hai.' That's exactly what I wanted to hear from him! I respect him a lot and the rumours about him scolding contestants aren't true. The show is such that Rohit sir has to behave in a certain way to get contestants to perform and he does it perfectly. Like ‘Bigg Boss' is incomplete without Salman Khan, ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi' is incomplete without Rohit Shetty.

Your video with Shehnaaz Gill went viral after a remix by Yashraj Mukhate. What was your reaction?
I don't know from where Yashraj comes up with these crazy ideas! I shared a good bond with Shehnaaz on that show and I was just coaxing her to relax since she had been upset since morning.

The unfortunate demise of another co-contestant on ‘Bigg Boss' Sidharth Shukla left everyone shocked.
Sidharth and I were very similar, people who are happy in their own world. We had stopped speaking after our tiffs on ‘Bigg Boss' and neither did we try to meet up. Sidharth's mom and sister watched a water stunt that I performed on ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi', despite the fact that I can't swim. It was so sweet of Sidharth to find my number from somewhere and call me to say ‘I would never have been able to do what you have done.' He went out of the way to appreciate my work and that is a very big thing for me. I felt such people should exist in the world, who appreciate others so much. We ended up speaking for half an hour and it was a lovely conversation. After that he texted me to catch up and we did meet. The news of Sidharth's death came two-three days after that and it was shocking. I'm very disturbed and still questioning the universe about what happened. I can only pray to God that Sidharth Shulka remains like he was even in heaven. I adore him for what he did for me, he didn't have to call or meet me but he did! This incident will stay with me for a lifetime.

Lastly, how will you be celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi this year?
I will be visiting friends home for Ganesh Chaturthi, I don't bring bappa home as I live alone. I wish everyone a happy Ganesh Chaturthi and know its Maharashtra's biggest festival. I used to celebrate Durga pooja and Chatt pooja, I wasn't aware of how big Ganpati is in Mumbai and was left amazed by how grandly it is celebrated.

Also Read: Here's how the most daring 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' will win the ‘Ticket to Finale'