Finally,
the
decision
has
been
taken.
Actor
Shiney
Ahuja
is
convicted
to
seven
years
in
jail
by
a
Mumbai
High
Court,
on
the
charges
of
allegedly
raping
his
20-year-old
maid
servant.
The
actor
was
on
a
bail
from
October
2009
and
was
externed
from
Mumbai
city.
Shiney
was
arrested
on
June
15
(2009)
after
it
was
confirmed
by
a
preliminary
medical
tests
that
the
girl
was
sexually
assaulted.
He
was
charged
under
IPC
Section
376
for
rape,
wrongful
restraint
and
intimidation.
However,
Ahuja
never
agreed
to
the
charges
and
always
insisted
that
he
is
innocent.
After
hearing
the
verdict
on
Wednesday,
the
actor
broke
down
in
the
court
room.
Shiney
who
made
a
successful
debut
with
the
film
Hazaaron
Khwaishein
Aisi
and
later
being
critically
acclaimed
for
his
roles
in
films
like
Gangster,
Khoya
Khoya
Chaand,
Fanaa,
Woh
Lamhe,
etc,
has
lost
his
worth
in
the
film
industry.
Reportedly,
Shiney
who
has
been
grilling
under
this
rape
case
since
last
two
years
(2009),
is
presently
not
more
than
25
crores
of
worth
in
the
entertainment
world.
In
this
last
two
years
after
he
got
convicted,
the
actor
had
only
three
small
films
in
his
hands,
which
included
Pritish
Nandy's
The
Accident,
Tito
Singh's
Har
Pal
and
Puja
Bedi's
Shunya.
A
trade
analyst
of
the
cinema
world
told
TOI,
“Shiney
Ahuja's
absence
will
not
be
felt
in
the
film
industry.
Even
at
the
time
of
his
arrest
he
was
not
really
at
the
peak
of
his
career.
The
only
decent
film
he
had
was
with
Preity
Zinta
who
was
big
then.
After
this
sentence
nobody
would
really
want
to
work
with
him.
It's
pack-up
time
for
him."
The
producer
of
Shiney's
film
Har
Pal,
Tito
Singh
is
shocked
with
the
news
as
there
were
a
few
patch
work
shoots
which
are
still
pending.
He
is
planning
to
sit
with
the
director
and
work
out
the
statistics.
When,
Shiney
was
externed
from
the
city
he
stayed
limited
to
Delhi
and
shot
and
dubbed
for
Pritish
Nandy's
film
The
Accident.
Nandy
says
that
he
was
hoping
for
a
positive
turn
after
the
verdict,
but
disappointed
he
will
now
have
to
release
the
film.
Looking
back
at
the
other
stars
who
were
also
involved
in
serious
legal
cases,
like
Salman
Khan
and
Sanjay
Dutt,
who
have
made
back
to
stardom
again,
it
will
be
very
difficult
for
Shiney
to
have
a
come
back
in
the
industry.
Salman
and
Sanjay,
were
established
stars,
who
have
a
huge
fan
following.
However
Shiney
was
still
struggling
to
make
it
big
in
the
film
industry.
Though
his
talent
had
been
appreciated
by
people,
he
was
still
in
a
pre-mature
state
when
it
comes
to
attaining
stardom.
Filmmaker
Mahesh
Bhatt,
who
gave
Shiney
his
biggest
hit
with
the
film
Gangster
says,
"We
are
in
the
illusion
manufacturing
industry.
Now
it
will
be
difficult
for
the
audience
to
view
his
screen
persona
without
being
reminded
of
this
heinous
crime
(rape).
This
verdict
is
a
body
blow
to
his
film
career.
However,
there
is
hope.
The
higher
court
can
reverse
this
verdict."
Will,
people
overlook
Shiney's
heinous
crime
and
accept
him
as
an
actor
on
the
silver
screen,
or
has
his
filmy
career
gone
for
a
toss,
is
something
that
will
be
discovered
in
the
times
to
come.