Former porn-star-turned-Bollywood actress, Sunny Leone, talks to Bollywood Hungama’s Joginder Tuteja about critics’ reactions to her latest film, Ek Paheli Leela…
Do you feel that there is some kind of bias that makes certain people go berserk in their views about the film?
It is their inability to take the movie at face value. If only they could have kept aside the name of an actor (referring to herself) and seen the film with a neutral attitude, perhaps their opinion wouldn’t have been as scathing.
It is unfortunate that they are so biased. I can’t see how it is so impossible for them to look at so many other things that the film has to offer. Okay, so you didn’t like Sunny Leone, fair enough. How about sets, music, my other co-stars, twists in the tale – you didn’t find anything worthwhile? Really? Because the audience, who are paying for the tickets, are certainly seeing a different film then!
Do you feel disappointed by the irony of affairs?
I guess these folks are really jaded. Perhaps they are watching too many films. Perhaps they have too many people in their own lives to worry about. Perhaps they are unhappy in their own lives. No wonder they cannot find anything good to say. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. These are a handful of people. I guess a visit from them to theatres with the actual audience would give them a different perspective.
From the glamour quotient perspective, you have given a lot to your target audience to feel content with what they see on the screen.
Well, the producer, director and myself decided collectively that we have to do something additional for our target audience. After all, their expectations are what need to be catered to. I guess we have been successful in bringing something that is a feast for their eyes (laughs). I hope they have enjoyed that. However, more than all of that, I am hoping that they also enjoyed the story as well as the acting.
From the look, costumes as well as the overall mannerisms, you bring various shades to your performance, right from period era to the contemporary times. How did you work around this?
It was definitely not easy. We did a lot of workshops on the character. It was challenging physically as well. I had to put on a lot of make-up and had to actually become Leela to gain her body language and the manner of talking. I loved every second of doing the film.
Many are wondering, though, if India was so liberal 300 years ago, what with the shortest of dresses and open relationships.
(Smiles) Now that’s a liberty that the producer and the director took. Ek Paheli Leela is a very commercial film and what you see on screen is the manner in which they had envisioned it. I have no arguments with that.
The film has you traversing generations in a reincarnation drama. How did you work on that aspect with director Bobby Khan?
We talked a lot about the character and worked on the dialogue a lot. I can’t say that I am the best actor in the world, but I am a good listener. I wanted to hear what Bobby wanted. When I am on set, I work the hardest to see what the director is conveying to me. I become exactly what the character demands.
Since you are forging good professional relationships, can one say that the industry has finally embraced you and started treating you beyond the glamour quotient?
It is a hard question. A larger segment of the audience has to accept me. My fans are really supportive, as they have been with me from day one. I hope the critics who are giving their opinions also see my acting, dancing and expressions. If nothing else, I am sure they are certainly seeing that I have grown as an actor. – Bollywoodhungama.com