Shiny can't stop raving about Sushmita. "She's enigmatic and magnetic. Among all my co-stars so far she's my absolute favourite."
So where does that leave Kangana, his Gangster co-star in which he enacted a role similar to Abu Salem.
"I didn't playing Abu Salem." Shiny Ahuja says with a poker face. "I've been denying it from the beginning. When I heard the story I saw no actual similarity. The similarities with Abu Salem's life are coincidental.
I read about Abu Salem objecting to Gangster --on the front page of the same paper that wrote about my divorce in the inside pages. But at the end of the day I'm just an actor.
Give me the script and I'll play the character within my capacity and conviction. Beyond that I can't say anything. I'd call Gangster a story of love, redemption and sacrifice."
Shiny says he plays the title role. "It's the story of passionate love. My character is willing to sacrifice his love, for his love. It's not just my first action film—and I've done all the stunts myself— Gangster is also my first mainstream film."
He chuckles loudly. "You know, the whole film industry looks at Gangster as my first film. Hazaar Khwaishein... didn't build any sort of a commercal equity for me. ....Though in many ways it changed my life. But I can't demand a certain price on the basis of Hazaar Khwaishein...The awards have helped in increasing my fee."
He reluctantly admits there wasn't much money in Gangster. "But at the end of the day you've to do what you believe in. Working with Mahesh Bhatt Saab was a genuine learning experience. He's a pioneer in a certain kind of cinema. And the Bhatts have a high success ratio.
They know the industry in and out. And they've taught me a lot. I knew nothing about the industry when I arrived. I now consult Sudhir Mishra and Mahesh Bhatt. They're my godfathers."
He gives a clean chit to his co-stars Kangana and Emran Hashmi in Gangster. "Kangana is a sweet girl. And Emran is a really cool guy. There was absolutely no insecurity about him just because he belonged to the Bhatt clan.
On the contrary he has a reputation for good songs. So I thought chalo apne gaane achche honge. I've two songs in Gangster though I don't sing them on screen. Singing wouldn't go with my character. Can you a imagine a cold-blooded gangsters bursting into a song?"
So how does it feel having swept through most of the popular awards? "Not most of them," he corrects.
"All of them. The awards were all surprises one after another. Coming as they all did for Hazaaron Khawishein Aisi which got a 35-print release. The awards went on and an, until Filmfare which is the most prestigious of the lot."After a character modeled on Abu Salem in Gangster, Shiny plays Mahesh Bhatt in Woh Lamhe . "Again my co-star is Kangana. It's the love story between Bhatt Saab and Parveen Babi."
Next, Shiny has his mentor Sudhir Mishra's Bahut Nikle Mere Armaan. "I'm waiting to start that. And Anurag Basu's Metro."
He feels more relaxed now than he did when he made his debut. "I haven't changed. But my environment has changed. I'm no longer tense. My mentor Sudhir Mishra says my graph is going the opposite way. With success I've become easier to deal with."
He laughs about the divorce story. "I found it funny. It was initially embarrassing for my wife. Even she laughed about it later. But I don't react at all to such talk. I wonder who has the time to spread all these rumours. I can't understand the intentions of such people. I've to realize that such gossip will be a part and parcel of my life."
