Shiney Ahuja

Shiney Ahuja
Ahuja in 2012
Born (1973-05-15) 15 May 1973 (age 51)
NationalityIndian
Other namesShiney Suraj Ahuja[1]
EducationSt. Xavier's School, Delhi
Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan
Alma materHansraj College
R.V. College
Occupations
Years active2003–2015
Spouse
Anupam Pandey
(m. 1997)
[2]
Children1

Shiney Suraj Ahuja (born 15 May 1973) is an Indian actor in Bollywood films. He won the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2006 and then followed with several hit films like Gangster, Woh Lamhe, Life in a Metro, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, and Welcome Back.[3]

Early life

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Ahuja was born on 15 May 1973[4] into a Punjabi[5] family in New Delhi, India. His mother is from Shimla, with her family originally from Sargoda, and his father Suraj Ahuja's ancestry is from Sahiwal, both in modern day Pakistan.[6] His father was born in Dehradun, and was a colonel in the Indian Army.[4]

Ahuja studied at St. Xavier's Senior Secondary School, Delhi and Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, before attending Hansraj College of the University of Delhi, followed by R.V. College of Engineering in Bangalore.[4] Later, he joined the theatre group "TAG" where he met Barry John. Shortly thereafter, he joined John's acting school in Delhi.[7]

Career

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After completing college, Ahuja secured his first commercial ad for Pepsi. This instantly brought him into consideration by the top ad agencies. Flooded with offers, he worked in over 40 ad films in that year, including Cadburys and Citibank. He also featured in the music video 'Pyar ho Gaya' for the British-Asian band "Stereo Nation."[citation needed]

Sudhir Mishra, who was auditioning for a film by Pritish Nandy Communications, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, saw Shiney in the Pepsi commercial and called him to audition for Kay Kay's character – Sidharth Tyabji. Upon his request, Mishra also auditioned him for the role of Vikram Malhotra. He was selected from over 200 aspirants for the role of Vikram Malhotra and made his acting debut in the film.[citation needed] The film went on to win critical acclaim, and was screened at as many as 12 film festivals over 6 months. These included film festivals at Turkey, Estonia, River to River (Florence), Berlin, Edinburgh, Washington, Dallas, India (Goa), Bite The Mango festival (Bradford, UK), the Commonwealth festival (Manchester), and the Pacific Rim festival (California). The film was released commercially in 2005 with minimal publicity but a national footprint across India. He received several best actor (debut) awards given for the year including Filmfare, Zee Cine, and Stardust.[citation needed][8]

Thereafter, Ahuja played the lead role in Mahesh Bhatt's Gangster, a popular commercial movie genre and Woh Lamhe opposite Kangana Ranaut. Other films followed including Life in a Metro, Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Two of his films, Ek Accident with co-star Soha Ali Khan and Har Pal with Preity Zinta are yet to be released.[9]

In 2015, Ahuja was cast in Anees Bazmee's Welcome Back co-starring John Abraham, Shruti Hassan, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Paresh Rawal.[10][11]

Family

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Ahuja is married to Anupam, and they have a daughter Arshiya.[12][13][14]

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In June 2009, Ahuja was arrested on charges of raping, detaining, and threatening his 19-year-old domestic servant. He was booked under Section 376 (rape), and Section 506 (threat to kill) of the Indian Penal Code.[4] During the trial, his maid (the victim) recanted on her testimony and told the Court that she was never raped. However, the judge believed that the maid falsely testified under pressure and, in 2011, Ahuja was sentenced to seven years of prison.[15]

This case was the inspiration for the writing of the legal drama film Section 375. The film was written by Manish Gupta, his friend who had interacted with the parties of the case during the time of the arrest.[16][17]

Filmography

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Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Movies Role Other notes
2005 Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi Vikram Malhotra Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut
Karam ACP Wagh Pratap Singh
Sins William
Kal: Yesterday and Tomorrow
2006 Gangster Daya Shankar Stardust Award for Superstar of Tomorrow – Male
Fanaa Suraj Ahuja Friendly appearance
Woh Lamhe Aditya Garewal
Zindaggi Rocks Dr. Suraj Rihan
2007 Life in a... Metro Akash
Bhool Bhulaiya Siddharth Chaturvedi
Khoya Khoya Chand Zaffar
2008 Migration Short film
Hijack Vikram Madaan
2009 Dheeme Dheeme Himself
2012 Ghost Vijay Singh
2015 Welcome Back Honey Sharif

Awards

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Award Film Category Result
Filmfare Awards Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi Best Male Debut Won
Screen Awards Best Male Debut Won
Zee Cine Awards Best Male Debut Won
IIFA Awards Star Debut of the Year - Male Won
Stardust Awards Best Male Debut Won
Gangster Superstar of Tomorrow Won

References

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  1. ^ "Shiney Suraj Ahuja VS State of Maharashtra". Supreme Today AI. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  2. ^ Mathur, Swati; Bamzai, Kaveree (18 June 2009). "The shine wears off". India Today.
  3. ^ Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi[dead link]. Sify.com (2005-04-18). Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
  4. ^ a b c d "Remember Shiney Ahuja? The Gangster actor is completely away from the limelight". mid-day. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. ^ Princy Jain (18 September 2006). "I am a true Punjabi : Shiney". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  6. ^ Khalid Mohamed (22 February 2008). "I'm no marriage thief: Shiney Ahuja". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Wishing Shiney Ahuja a very happy Birthday". Screen. 15 May 2009. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009.
  8. ^ "Filmfare winners of the year 2006 | Best Newcomer (Male)". filmfare.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Producers refused to account 'Har Pal' following Shiney Ahuja rape case, reveals Jahnu Barua". Deccan Chronicle. Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  10. ^ "John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, and Shiney Ahuja strike a pose on the sets of Welcome Back-view pics! – Bollywood News & Gossip, Movie Reviews, Trailers & Videos at Bollywoodlife.com". 10 October 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  11. ^ Shiney Ahuja returns as Naseer's son. Times of India. 5 September 2014
  12. ^ Samyabrata Ray Goswami (15 June 2009). "Shiney in custody, wife rushes back". telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009.
  13. ^ Priyanka Jain (2 September 2015). "Exclusive: My Daughter Is My Biggest Strength, Says Shiney Ahuja". thequint.com.
  14. ^ Sarita Tanwar (20 June 2011). "Life will go back to normal again: Shiney's wife". indiatimes.com.
  15. ^ "Shiney Ahuja, fallen Bollywood star, jailed for raping maid". The Guardian. 31 March 2011.
  16. ^ Nandakumar Rammohan (17 September 2019). "Shiney Ahuja Case Inspired 'Section 375', Says Film's Writer". thequint.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  17. ^ Suparno Sarkar (17 September 2019). "Section 375 story is based on Ahuja's rape case, reveals writer Manish Gupta". ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
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