Shiney Ahuja's 7 yrs jail; film career goes for a toss

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.