Besides his good looks and brilliant talent, the actor is also known for his attitude. Shiney smiles, as he tries to explain: "There is a campaign being run against me by a group of journalists. They have ensured that I get negative publicity all the time, and they have successful. There is no responsible journalism; some of them have lost their conscience. They are giving the entire media a bad name."
But there is no smoke without fire. Why has he been hiding his wife from the media? "Look at my mobile's screensaver," Shiney interrupts. "I have a child. I am a married man. I love my family. It's just that my wife does not want to be in the public eye. Is there anything wrong in that? My family has always felt that Bollywood was a bad place for middle class people. And by writing bad things about me without any truth in it, the media has proved them right."
He gives us an example. "I was shooting for a film when I asked for a glass of juice. That became a big story in papers. They wrote I will not do the shot unless juice was served to me. Isn't that silly? Now, I tell my producers not to give me film scripts but the menu card of what will be served on the sets; and only then I will do their films!" Shiney laughs.
So why does he think he has been targeted? "I don't know," Shiney answers. "I guess since I came from outside and made it big so soon, some people did not life it. Luckily, my work has not suffered."
Don't Miss: Images: Forgettable debuts
Advertisement
