Eyebrows were raised when rumours circulated that Bollywood actress and former adult star, Sunny Leone, has inserted a strict “no-kissing clause” in all her future Hindi film contracts.
But is that a pragmatic provision for an actress who is known for her risqué films such as One Night Stand and Mastizaade, a sex comedy that’s unapologetically designed to titillate?
“I don’t know who made that up. It is a bunch of nonsense,” said Leone, turning to her husband and manager Daniel Webber to exchange a dramatic eye roll.
The couple were in Dubai earlier this week at the Beauty World Middle East to launch Leone’s new line of fragrances called Lust Forever for men and women.
“People write crazy things just to get headlines for their papers… It’s just not true,” said Leone.
The Canadian adult star of Indian origin, born to Punjabi parents. knows a thing or two about being witch-hunted by the media.
In January this year during a film promotion of Mastizaade, Leone had to tackle a series of misogynistic and sexist questions about her past in a television interview.
The infamous interview by CNN-IBN anchor Bhupendra Chaubey seemed to have been orchestrated to make Leone cringe and be apologetic about her career choices. (His line of questioning included: ‘You would like to work with Aamir Khan, but would Aamir Khan like to work with you? A member of parliament, in his speeches, has held you responsible for corrupting Indian morality. How do you deal with that?’).
The Hindi film fraternity, which were ambivalent and often critical about her entry into mainstream Hindi cinema until then, rallied behind her and congratulated her for displaying grace under fire on social media. Actors such as Rishi Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Dia Mirza called the reporter out for his prejudiced questions. But the biggest achievement was Khan declaring that he would love to work with her, despite the seemingly biased reporter suggesting otherwise.
“I do appreciate him [Aamir Khan] for reaching out to me… I don’t know whether I am an insider yet, but it feels good to be accepted, especially in the last six to eight months. Some really amazing things have happened to me and I have met some very nice people,” said Leone.
It’s not just Khan who’s happy to work with her. Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan has roped her in for a song cameo for his latest film Raees. Leone, who was considered a minor star reserved for low brow horror films, is now being courted by several big names and is being hailed for exercising her freedom of choice.
“I can’t wait for you to see it… He’s such an amazingly humble person. When you look at him, you think of a larger-than-life character. But when you meet him, he’s everything that you expected in your mind, heart and some more,” said Leone, who grew up in a conservative Punjabi household. Her entry into the Indian entertainment industry was through Salman Khan’s hit TV show Bigg Boss.
“I will be forever grateful to Shah Rukh Khan for casting me in one of his songs. He has given me this incredible opportunity and you have to remember he is one of the largest brands in the world as far as Bollywood cinema is concerned,” she added.
Leone, 35 and born as Karenjit Kaur Vohra, knows a thing or two about building a brand and amassing a sizeable business empire.
Leone has acted and directed in over thirty films, has her own production company called Sunlust Pictures and has even written and directed films in Los Angeles. So is she modelling herself after the famous Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star in the West who has her own clothing line, fragrance, reality TV show and impressive clout on social media?
“I do appreciate their business model and I think they are amazing. But I am not modelling myself after anybody. When you work in entertainment and when you have so many people at your disposal, it is important to keep those contacts and relationships going,” said Leone. Her own line of fragrance is just the beginning. Very soon, she will also create her own line of nail polish and lipsticks.
“I grew up in a typical Punjabi home and make-up is not something that my dad wanted me to wear. They liked me in a simple, Punjabi girl look. But I loved going through my mother’s make-up kit and spritzing on her perfumes. It was so much fun,” said Leone. A girly girl, the seemingly uncomplicated Leone, who has embraced all her life’s questionable decisions, likes to keep things simple too when it comes to her beauty regimen.
“One of the biggest beauty myths is that you need expensive smelling goods or products for something to work on you. Some of the products sold in the pharmacy can work wonders too.”
