An actor who’s known for his intense roles, Shiney Ahuja has always zealously guarded his private life. Even when he entered the industry, even though he was a married man then, he didn’t feel the necessity to talk about it, which was misconstrued as him wanting to hide his marriage to maintain his sex appeal!

However, later there were rumours of him having trouble with his marriage, which was finally squashed when his wife Anu delivered a baby girl recently.

Even today, Shiney prefers talking about his performances (which have been well appreciated, may it be in ‘Hazaron Khwahishe Aisi’, ‘Gangster’ or ‘Woh Lamhe’), rather than his personal life.

While some misconstrue this as an attitude problem, Shiney didn’t want to use his personal life as a publicity tool.

Shiney is most excited about his role in Priyadarshan’s ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’. Thanks to the film, Shiney’s got a new found interest in the supernatural world.

“I have never experienced any supernatural happening or seen any ghosts, but I would love to. I know of a lot of people who have, and I am very curious to know what it feels like. I wish something like that (a supernatural experience) would happen to me,” he says.

“The film is a totally new genre, something that has not been attempted in India, and I think it will provide some answers to those who have questions about the supernatural world.”

 In the film, Shiney plays Siddharth, a newly married young man, who shifts into his family’s sprawling ancestral bungalow, with his wife Avni (Vidya Balan), inspite of warnings from family members that the house is haunted. A remake of the blockbuster Malyalam film

‘Manichitrathazhu’, and directed by Priyadarshan, the film stars Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal.

“This is different from what I have done in the past, especially since mine is not the central role. Akshay has a bigger role, but it was Priyan Sir’s cabability and the great subject that made me say yes to this film instantly,” he beams.

Ask him about working with Priyadarshan for the first time, and Shiney is in raptures over the director’s unconventional way of working. “I landed up on the sets of the film on the first day, and I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on.

I didn’t have a bound script, and nor did anyone else. I looked at Vidya (Balan) and she looked at me, and we both realised that we were as clueless as the other. That’s the way Priyan sir works.”

There was however a method in the madness, and according to Shiney, it shows in the way that the film has turned out. “I always say yes to a film based on pure instinct, and surprisingly, it always works. Maybe my instincts are tuned in to the box office!” Have there been times when those famed instincts haven’t worked?

“Sure, but by that time you have already committed to the script. And I have come to realise that creative satisfaction is not the only reason you may have to do a film. There could be practical reasons as well.”