Shiney Ahuja. You’d be forgiven if the first thought that came into your mind when reading this name was about his current court case. Nearly two years ago, the actor was accused of raping his house-help, and in an ongoing case, was handed the “guilty” verdict which he has appealed against. In his short career, Ahuja has acted opposite Kanagna Ranaut, Vidya Balan and Soha Ali Khan to name a few. He had been appreciated in his debut movie Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi and won a number of Best Newcomer awards for his performance in it.
The actor was convicted of rape in March and sentenced to seven years in prison. He has since been released on bail awaiting his appeal hearing. A date is yet to be confirmed. The actor recently gave his very first TV interview since the accusation was made. He explained in the conversation that his family members were his biggest strength. He described his thoughts while being in prison as always being with his family members. He said his wife, Anupam, in particular was a pillar of support and always believed in him, “I was living in jail because of my wife, my daughter and my parents”. He said that he didn’t know what he would have done without them.
When talking about his wife further, he revealed, “People always say that Anupam is with me because I’m an actor but the truth is that her family background is much more well-to-do than mine”. His wife also spoke and said, “The girl said that nothing happened, the medical reports showed no blood and the doctors confirmed that there had been no sexual intercourse but yet he was still convicted”.
Ahuja, when asked about his biggest fear through this all, empathised, “I was worried about my daughter. I am worried about how she will live her life being labeled as my daughter. I hope she doesn’t find out now. I will tell her when she is older. I will explain how much her mother loves her father and stood by him. I will explain things to her as they happened and she will believe me because she will know that I love her. I want her to be able to hold her head high and be proud to say she is my daughter”.
The interview was undoubtedly an emotional one. However, it seems only fair that the actor and his family get to give their side of the story because till date, not many people have heard that side. Ahuja’s wife summed up their ordeal in a few simple sentences, “It’s been 22 months and it feels like our whole life has come to a standstill. We watch Shiney’s films and think about how things would be if this hadn’t happened. It would be a very different world for us.”
