Tremendous critical acclaim for his debut venture 'Hazaa ron Khwahishein Aisi' and a heap of awards in its wake have almost overnight catapulted this handsome actor into the big league in Bollywood.

The surprise success of Anurag Basu's 'Gangster' this year, following close on the heels of the host of awards for 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi' on the Indian film circuit, including the Critics Award for Best Debutant at the Screen Awards, have firmly placed Shiney Ahuja on the Bollywood skyway, establishing a niche for him as an actor to reckon with.

However, despite the tremendous accolades and the heightened industry focus on him post 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi' and 'Gangster', Shiney Ahuja is not celebrating yet.

''Winning awards is definitely encouraging moreso for a newcomer like me. However, I feel that rather than let this acclaim sweep you off your feet, it is important to stay focused on one's work and work harder to meet future challenges.

I remember, the director of 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi' Sudhir Misra telling me when I went to him after winning the critics award for best debutant for the film that 'after this award, you are no longer competing with the debutants but now are in direct competition with the big league of stars'. Therefore, for me it is important to now concentrate harder on my work,'' Shiney says.

Talking to press in an interview on the eve of the release of his films 'Who Lamhe' and 'Zindagi Rocks', Shiney said the series of awards he had won for 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi' and success of 'Gangster' had not changed him.

"Awards have not changed me. Rather, I am the same person as I was before 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi'. The only thing that has changed is the attitude of the people and the industry towards me- while earlier nobody knew who Shiney Ahuja was, now post 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi' and 'Gangster', the people and the industry are talking about the same person,'' Shiney said.

Admittedly, after the success of 'Gangster', Shiney Ahuja is on a roll. From being an 'also ran' actor about three years ago who did bit roles and cameos infilms like 'Karam', Shiney is now basking in the attention of the industry with a number of filmmakers offering him lead roles.

So, while in Tanuja Chandra's 'Zindagi Rocks', he plays the lead role opposite former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, in 'Woh Lamhe' too, a film on the life of yesteryear actress Parveen Babi, he plays the male lead opposite Kangana. Further, he has also bagged a key role in Priyadarshan's next, which also features Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan.