In the same year, Sudhir Mishra was auditioning for a film by Pritish Nandy Communications, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’. Sudhir saw Shiney in the Pepsi commercial and called him to audition for Kay Kay’s character – Sidharth Tyabji. Upon Shiney’s request, Sudhir Mishra also auditioned him for the role of Vikram Malohotra. Shiney was cast from over 200 aspirants for the role of Vikram Malhotra and made his acting debut in the ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ (HKA). The film went on to win critical acclaim, and in 2004, was shown across 12 film festivals in 6 months including Turkey, Estonia, River to River (Florence), Berlin, Edinburgh, Washington, Goa, Bite The Mango (Bradford), Commonwealth (Manchester), India (Los Angeles), Dallas, and Pacific Rim (California).