It's been over three years since the release of Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, in which Shiney Ahuja matched strides with the formidable Kay Kay Menon, but ever since he has had a line-up of duds. (Karam, Khoya Khoya Chand) and a few hits (Gangster, Woh Lamhe, Life In A Metro). His resume of filmmakers has been fairly impressive, but big-time stardom has eluded him, as Shiney has shared the limelight with other heroes in most of his commercial successes. But his new solo action hit, Hijack, promises to give him the stardom that has stayed away from him so far. Shiney has for long been friends with the film's director Kunal Shivdasani, a veteran ad filmmaker who wanted to work with him in his debut feature film. “He suggested two ideas that did not appeal to me, but when he narrated the story of this film, I connected immediately, as I have a four-year-old daughter, and I know exactly what a father would feel and be driven to do, if his little one were alone in a hijacked flight. So when the aircraft lands at an airport to refuel, he swings into action and goes to extraordinary lengths to save her.” Kunal, he adds, has come out with a slick film in terms of storytelling, shot-taking and editing, and because they are buddies, Shiney could discuss the film and his character with Kunal for hours, which may not have been possible with any other director. What about his own inputs or research? “I did not provide any inputs, but yes, I did read up articles on hijackings and also watched films like Die Hard and Executive Decision,” he says. How much of the action (Shiney even hangs from a moving aircraft) was real and how many shots were created by way of CGI (Computer-Generated Imaging)?
“There was no CGI,” answers Shiney. “I did all the stunts, and that too without a duplicate. I thought that would ensure honesty in the visuals. We shot the sequence at 50 degrees Celsius with the wind carrying sand into my eyes over 7 days,” he explains. Wasn’t that risky? What was his wife’s take on that? Admitting that he had taken a huge risk, Shiney smiles sheepishly and says, “You know how it is. You get a rush of adrenaline at that point and you don't think of the consequences. I only told my wife about it later!” So is he a method actor or a natural ‘switch-on’?
“That varies from script to script,” he says thoughtfully. “Some films demand lots of preparation and others are easier as the characters are close to my real self. It also varies from sequence to sequence and my instinct tells me where I need to do what. There are cases where a bit of both may be needed.” And how does he choose his roles? “I give top priority to anything I have not done before, something unusual or something for a cause. I prefer meaningful films, but I also want to do a full-on masala film because I have not done one so far,” he says. “As an actor, I must enjoy my work and not stagnate. After all, that’s the very reason why I became an actor and did not take up a 9 to 5 job, right? There was a time when I was doing theatre and thinking of taking up a job to keep my kitchen going. That's when my wife Anu had insisted that I try films because she knew that I was born to act.”
He goes on, “Getting lost in a role and believing that you are the character is like meditation. There are times when I kept behaving like the character for a full minute after the camera was switched off. Acting is like bungee-jumping. It’s the thrill of that moment and I would like to experience that high with most, if not all of my roles, and not just four to five times in my entire career. Because in acting, the more I learn the more I realise what I don't know.”
Shiney’s only forthcoming film at the moment is Har Pal, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta. “Jahnu Barua is attempting a mainstream romantic comedy for the first time ever,” he says.
