As I walk across the cool grass in the compound of a vacant bungalow on Peddar Road, I can hear the faint whiff of a shuttlecock. Getting closer, I see a figure in a black shirt and beige trousers flexing his wrist as he plays a mock game with his opponent. The mild December sun does not seem to bother the 'players' whose moves are carefully choreographed by the film's director.

Shooting for Sudhir Mishra's Khoya Khoya Chand is in progress. A couple of Dalmatians loll on the verdant grass, in the shadow of a hedge. "They're Sudhir's," says Shiney Ahuja, pointing to the dogs, as he flops down on the chair next to me, his eyes crinkling as he smiles.

In a short time he has showed that he is here to stay. Mumbai has been his address for the past few years and yet, the son of an army man who has travelled almost the length and breadth of the country, is often gnawed by pangs of homesickness. Before launching into our conversation, Ahuja pulls out his laptop, flips open the screen and with a web browser, guides my attention first to his parents' home in Noida and then to his abode here.

Naturally the first thing that springs to mind is the latest gripe that the almost famous actor has turned starry…a bit too big for his boots. "My friends who are now aware of my star status, will willingly attest to the fact that I have not changed," he says. "I am here, working on my sets, round the clock. I still frequent the same gym, drive the same car, go to the same juicewallah. I have just started out and have a really long way to go…. I cannot afford to be arrogant as I am here to build my career. If I find it difficult to give people time, it is honestly because I have back-to-back schedules. This could be misunderstood as being pricey. If I cancel a shoot, the director will say that I am throwing attitude. I am just one person and cannot be in two places at the same time."

The rank outsider to the industry took a while to gain acceptance. With no godfather to give him a film on a platter, he did the rounds…and faced rejections. For those not in the know, Ahuja would have done Dil Chahta Hai years ago but for the fact that director, Farhan Akhtar, wanted established stars in his mega movie in the making. So, the wannabe superstar lost out a great film but "I am not at all the type to bear grudges. If he asked me now, I would definitely consider his offer. I owe my early success to him because he passed on my audition tape to Sudhir. You can say Farhan was the catalyst for my career to take off."

Ahuja's first offering with Mishra, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (HKA), got him critical acclaim and a role in his next film, Khoya Khoya Chand, as well. The director walks by, smiles in our direction and states, "Before Shiney joined the industry he was a mama's boy. He has improved a lot after he's come here!"

Long before Gangster brought him a whiff of commercial success, the fledgling star had realised that he had to struggle to make his Technicoloured dreams come true. "I was an outsider to this industry and had to start from scratch. I knew the road would be tough but I was determined that whatever I did I would excel in it. I was quite naive and I used to believe that all you need to succeed is talent and hard work but there are other factors… - the timing of the film, its marketing...."

Admitting that "the industry does recognise true talent," he confesses that he did many auditions and appeared for 70 ad films, waiting for the right break. "I never shy away from auditions. I might not be suitable for the role but even today I will go for auditions because it helps me show that I can get into the character and act...."

For the perhaps born to the camera Ahuja, movies were never the first choice. In fact he was not even a contemporary Hindi cinema buff, having grown up on a diet of the old classics shown in different army settlements. "As a child, I aspired to be a million things…. I wanted to join the merchant navy, be a cricketer or commercial pilot. I really did not know what I wanted to do in life until it dawned on me that I was pretty good as an actor."

This realisation came pretty late even though his mirror must have shown him every morning that he had a handsome visage, one of the reasons perhaps why the chikna munda was called Shiney. Laughing out loud, he says, "The name was chosen by my father and I will never change it. I have never focussed consciously on how I looked. In HKA, I did not use any make-up. I am slowly learning how important the externals are, what big role grooming and styling play in the making of a star."

His career - on a roll at present - is not the result of a carefully thought out blueprint. For Ahuja insists that he is game for anything - it all depends on his frame of mind…and perhaps, the side of the bed he got out from. Jokes apart, he says, "My mindset keeps changing every day … depending on what I am thinking at the moment I would like to do comedy, action, serious cinema…. I am quite a romantic at heart. So, I will be able to easily identify with a love story and definitely enjoy doing the regular song and dance routines...."

Till now most of his characters have been multi-dimensional and he is keen to showcase myriad sides of his talent. Surprisingly, a couple of his films, Sins and Woh Lamhe, stirred up quite a storm even before their release. Yet, the actor says, he has no regrets about doing the roles that he did. "I went by my script and my character. You have to go with the flow of the film. Once your job is completed, the fate and image of the final project depends on how it is marketed and promoted. Anyway, all that is over and done with. It is time to look ahead."

Call him the new star on the block and the pin-up dude for young girls and guys and he is startled. "Really? I don't think I have made it yet," he says. "I haven't been to any place or pub where I could be mobbed. Stardom to me is being able to realise your dreams, it is getting the power to choose the kind of roles you want to play. Today I am finally doing the roles that I want to do."

The acceptance and the attention have given him a certain sense of security. Happily married to Anu, his personal life too lends a balance to his previously nomadic existence, even though he does share a long distance marriage with his US-based professional wife. "Anu is cool about what I do," he smiles. "She is unfazed by the rumours and the gossip on the grapevine; she knows that it is all a part of my work. I need to settle down and unwind. As a person, I am slightly complicated because I tend to think too much at times. I must loosen up and chill, for every moment comes only once."

He is moving forward to where he wants to be. It is obvious that he shares only those bits of his life that he would like to open up a window to. There are many things that he will not willingly talk about: controversies, accusations…and his age. "I am not vain but letting everyone know my age does not help. I am as old as the character I play," he says. "If you did know how young or old I was it would become very easy for everyone - the directors and my audience - to pigeonhole me in a particular slot. So, let's not discuss it and let it remain a mystery."

Like his age, the actor keeps many cards close to his chest. And following all the controversial reports in the press, comes the news that he has signed on Mira Nair's film on AIDS, after Saif Ali Khan turned it down. His take on this new development? "It is a short film but the pleasure of working with Mira Nair will last me very long. It's funny. While all these strange stories about my bad behaviour are being circulated by vested interests, my career is getting better and better," he was quoted as saying. And with projects like Priyadarshan's Chandramukhi, Anurag Basu's Metro and Sudhir Mishra's Khoya Khoya Chand on the anvil, here is one star who is on the ascendant....