I’ll never allow anybody to put me down: Sunny Leone

“Get over, march forward!” says Sunny Leone with zen-like calmness, after she brushes aside the media interview that is receiving flak from all corners. With a beaming smile, Sunny settles down to talk to us about a not-so-revealed side of hers, her future plans and the kind of roles that excite her.

The controversial interview About the interview that has gone viral, Sunny says she agreed for the interview anticipating that it would revolve around her upcoming movies and not her past career choices. “I had never watched any of his shows before, so I didn’t know what I was walking into. I thought it would be like just another interview where I will be asked questions pertaining to the movie,” she states while asserting, “That’s not my personality — to walk out and leave. I believe that I don’t want anybody like him to get the best or the better of me and give him the satisfaction of saying, ‘Yes! I did it! I really ticked her off’ because I will never allow anybody to put me down. If you see the video, my hands were fidgety, because I was so uncomfortable. I was alone; there was not one person around in the studio who supported me or who could have stopped me there. I have never felt so lonely in my whole life. I think everybody has their own style and sensibility and a certain way in which they want to ask questions to someone. I am glad that after seeing the video, people have actually come forward, have understood and felt what I did at that time, and have supported me.”

She tells us that after the whole incident, the interviewer wrote a couple of open letters, but she hasn’t received any apology or explanation so far.

Future goals Sunny has been in the industry for a few years now and is mastering the tricks of the trade. Where does she see herself ten years down the line “I have learnt in the entertainment industry that the moment you start planning is the moment when things start going in a completely different direction. In another ten years, hopefully, I would want to make my own films — films that I would want to make at that moment and be a part of,” she says.

Choice of roles As an actress, Sunny prefers roles that are out of the box and far flung from her real self. She puts forth, “I love when I can become a character that I am not in my personal life —something out of the box and something far off from what I am as an individual. Comedy movies and sci-fi are the genres that attract me the most as an actor and as a viewer too. I love the kind of movies that make you exit your own world and enter someone else’s.”

Love for a particular role On being quizzed if there is any particular role that she feels she could have done better, she is quick to respond, “The reason why you like a certain movie or a character is because she/he did it so well that it stayed with you. I don’t think I can do a better job than Priyanka Chopra did in Mary Kom or ever think of replacing Kangana Ranaut in Tanu Weds Manu. It is their movie and I would not like to or want to fit into their shoes.”

Mastizaade and more Sunny will soon be seen in director Milap Zaveri’s upcoming adult comedy Mastizaade. The thrill of playing a double role (Laila and Lily) and the script of the movie made her give a thumbs up to the project. She elaborates, “Milap came to me and narrated the first half of the movie, and I found it really funny and exciting. Be it American Pie or the Hangover series, I have seen movies that have this type of content. One of my favourites is Meet the Millers. It is so outrageous, crazy and hilarious. When the director approached me, I had just finished doing Ragini MMS 2 and that had been a serious film, so I wanted to do something lighter for my next. Later, my excitement doubled when he told me that he wants to cast me for a double role, something that I had never done before.”

Playing two contrasting characters was challenging for Sunny. She shares, “Laila is an over the top, sexy and glamorous bombshell kind of character while her sister Lily is dorky, clumsy, wears specs, has a different kind of haircut and is the complete opposite of her sister. I thought if I am doing an adult film, what is going to be that balancing factor, if at all there is one, and I think Lily was it...she was the balancing factor! Lily is like the other side of Sunny in real life. In fact, I have put in so many of my own personality traits into her.”

Gaon ki gori or girl-next-door Is there any particular kind of roles that she thinks suit her better — traditional gaon ki gori or girl next door “At this moment, the latter suits me more. I have never tried any other genre, so I don’t know. You don’t know what people have to say about it, until you try it and present it to them. There are two different movies lined up for the coming months where the audience will be seeing me in completely different roles,” says Sunny, who has recently also launched her own line of deodorants.

KJOs movie offer Reportedly, Sunny has been signed by Karan Johar for his next project. Rubbishing the reports, she says, “No, not at all! I don’t know where this is coming from! Although, I would like to work with him.”

Cup of coffee Are there any friends in the industry with whom she would like to sit down for a cup of coffee and have a hearty chat She concludes, “So many, actually! I wish we could have a tea party. Sonam Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit — I love them all and would love to have a cup of coffee or two with them.”