Bollywood welcomed India’s first adult actor with open arms and the actress has offers pouring in. She says people are free to judge her but she believes in following her heart. By Karan Bhardwaj
Though her entry in Indian television sparked a national debate, Bollywood welcomed her with open arms. Her first hit, Jism 2, was her answer to the critics. At present, Sunny leone, India’s first adult actor, has many projects in pipeline. She is trying to adjust and adapt to the sensibilities of Indian audience. “I have perfected my Hindi… I speak in the language with everyone on the sets. I am getting confident with each photo shoot, modelling assignment and film,” she said.
She is comfortable living her “dreams” in Mumbai. In fact, moving and settling in India has been the easiest transition in her life. leone owns a sea-facing flat in Andheri, enjoys services of drivers and helpers at home.
Meeting the 32-year-old actor in Goa, where she is shooting her next film Jackpot, was a pleasant experience. She wore smile with every word, emphasised on being a human being and said there’s nothing weird about her personality. “For the past one month, we are shooting in Goa for Jackpot. last year, I had shot part of Jism 2 here. But it was up in the jungles, so I was never exposed to this side of Goa which has beaches, casinos and happening nightlife. I didn’t know it was a major holiday spot. Though we had a hectic schedule, I took a day’s break for the sight-seeing. I went to a restaurant at seaside which was very relaxing,” she said as we started the conversation about her life, new plans and forthcoming projects.
leone also pointed out that there are still many misconceptions about her. “But if you do a little bit of research, you would know that I haven’t done ‘that cinema’ for a long time. I quit it even before I entered Big Boss. I was already one my way out,” she said.
Having said that, the actor says she doesn’t doubt people’s growing admiration for her. “The fact that millions of people have enjoyed my item number laila in Shootout at Wadala, Jism 2 fared well on box office and so many people want to work with me today validates that I am accepted in Bollywood as well as among audience. After Jackpot, there is a sequel to Ragini MMS 2 and another film called Tina and lolo apart from two more projects,” she asserted.
The actor may be new to Indian showbiz but she has been in limelight for a long time. “I have been an entertainer for 13 years. I have faced camera for so long, doing TV shows, interviews, mainstream cinema, red carpet interviews, radio shows…,” she said, adding that Bigg Boss was the best way to get introduced to India. “People could see my unadulterated personality. How people want to perceive me is up to them. But I think they are okay. On streets, they recognise me, click pictures. In my initial days, a father came up and got her daughter clicked with me. I obviously must have done something good that people want to pose with me,” she said.
Since childhood, she has done what she wanted to. She doesn’t regret anything and believes in executing things differently from others. “I have always liked the idea of doing something out of the box. So I always keep fresh attitude towards everything. If something interests me, I do it. If people don’t want to see it, they can watch something else. Even as an actor, I don’t limit myself and set boundaries. We are living in an amazing world where we are free to experiment,” she said.