Though Shiney Ahuja went to the same college, Hansraj college, where Shah Rukh Khan had studied, he says it wasn't SRK's footsteps that he wanted to follow.

After a degree in commerce, Shiney, like most youngsters, wondered what to do in life. "It is that period where you don't know what to do with your life. My father was very supportive; he always encouraged me to do what I wanted," recalls Shiney.

Shiney signed up for Barry John's theatre group, and soon found himself getting modelling offers.

Unlike other strugglers who come to Mumbai in search of their cine dreams, Shiney did not have to struggle much. He was already a known face in the modelling world, and had also saved enough money from his garments business in Delhi.

But life was not without problems, as Shiney realised when he joined films. "Initially, I was never paid the promised amount by producers because I was new in the industry. In some films, I was promised Rs 75,000 but got paid Rs 50,000 only. But I didn’t feel bad. I took in the right stride," the actor says with a grin.

Text: Syed Firdaus Ashraf

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