In a candid chat, Sunny leone opens up to Shrabasti Mallik about being a dorky kid in high school, watching Hindi movies with her family and about the artful management of living in a hostile environment
She might have been an adult film star for a while and yes, even her brief stint with Bollywood, so far, has been in the similar genre, give and take the occasional ‘item numbers’ and cameo appearance. But Karenjit Kaur Vohra is so much more than that. Or should we, like so many others, call her Sunny leoneIJ
If you take her out from her work, she is a charming lady — soft spoken, beautiful and content with who she is. When we met her during her promotional tour for her movie Mastizaade, we discovered a whole new side to “India’s most Googled person in 2015.”
looking pretty in a black top and beige pencil skirt, she came through with disarming honesty and poise. Even her fun-loving, girl-next-door personality shone through the interaction. She laughed without hesitation and was quite expressive with her eyes and hand gestures.
Contradictory to how people choose to see her, the actor can get really frank and can talk — heart to heart and quite unabashedly, too. There was a lot that she revealed — details and stories about her growing up days, advice for sex addicts and what it takes for a woman to wear a bikini regardless of her size.
Excerpts from an interview:
Tell us something about the movie...
Mastizaade is a comedy, but everybody knows that, rightIJ (laughs). It stars some wonderful actors and comedians like Tusshar Kapoor, Vir Das and me, in a double role. Frankly, I am really excited because this is something that I have never done before.
How similar or different are the twoIJ
The first character is laila and she is exactly what people would be expecting her to be — over the top, sexy, outrageous, a bombshell and she also has her funny moments. Then there is her sister lily who is her complete oppposite. In the first half she wears a saree with glasses, she stutters and sports an interesting haircut. She is clumsy and goofy. That was one of the reasons why I said yes to this film. I knew that if I were to make a movie in the genre, I wanted there to be a balance.
You have mentioned before that you were a geek while growing up...
I was sort of geeky and never part of the ‘cool group.’ I wasn’t popular; In fact there is a picture of mine floating around on the internet, which has me in a unibrow and hair all over the place! I didn’t really discover myself until I turned 19. I used to play with GI Joes and not Barbies! I never thought of myself as hot or sexy.
You will not know but some of the people who I am close to — thats how they know me. They know me as a little bit dorky and clumsy. Not like the character of laila — cool and sexy.
Aamir Khan recently said that he would love to work with you. How do you feelIJ
It was anamazing feeling; I think my heart stopped for a second there. When I read the message I was in a car and it was an ‘oh my god’ moment and I was jumping up and down the car. Its something that I never imagned would happen. That somebody like him, at his level, would say that to me. It’s very exciting; its nice to know that people are supportive. He was very supportive, like so many other people were, incluidng my fans.
Will we see you together soon, thenIJ
I’m still digesting what he said... I’m still in shock. Whether we work together or not I’ll still always watch his film and I will always be a fan.
India is a celebrity crazy country. How do you feel being recognisedIJ
Its something that I don’t think I will ever get used to. It catches me off guard. Its amazing that people want to be your fan or that they enjoy something so much and they want to take a picture or talk to you. I am glad to have the kind of fans that I do. But yes, I do have some wonderful people who help me get around unnoticed (laughs).
The artful management of living in a hostile environment according to you...
You know what, I don’t know about others but I feel that most actors and actresses live in their bubble and we don’t really leave that bubble. Most of the time, we are within a simple group of people who are always around and we are always busy — either on the road, or working or in an event or shooting. That way, you are always in your own bubble.
So, even though the industry is competitive, I always see myself as my biggest competitor because I want to be better than yesterday.
Her character in Mastizaade plays a teacher to a sex addict group, and she shared her definition of a sex addict and also summed it up with a bit of advice: “I think if it takes over your mind and your ability to have a normal life, then the person is a sex addict and should seek help.”
In a talk show, M Bole Toh on Hotstar, she also apologised to Sunny Deol. “Mr. Sunny Deol, I just wanna say that I am so sorry. Mujhe maaf kar do, kyunke itne horrible, weird jokes ho gaye aapke aur mere upar — meri wajah se.” (Please forgive me, because of the many horrible, weird jokes on you and about me — all because of me),” she said.
photo Pankaj Kumar
with an input form IANS