Not so Sunny for Leone

Bollywood actor finds favour with fans and peers after a distasteful interview

If the latest buzz is anything to go by, actor Sunny Leone found herself to be in the eye of the storm, yet again—this time during the promotions of her forthcoming flick Maastizaade.

In a twist of events that ensued, the adult star-turned- Bollywood actor was on the receiving end of a set of incredulous statements and questions ranging from, “I’m wondering whether I’m getting morally corrupted because I’m interviewing you You would still do the kind of shoots, the kind of work you used to do, before you came to Bollywood ,” to “There are lots of married women who look at Sunny Leone as a threat to their husbands. Do you not care about all this Do you not get affected that your past, the past that you were a ‘porn queen’, will continue to haunt you Or maybe it will continue to pull you back Do you believe your body will ultimately take you everywhere You would like to work with Aamir Khan, But would Aamir Khan would want to work with you ...”

While Sunny maintained her poise and responded to the harrowing tete-a-tete with utmost grace and a dash of wit; the questions asked to the actor left many livid— questioning the audacity of taking baleful digs at a woman actor who wasn’t apprehensive about it in the first place. We caught up with a few for their views, and here’s what they said...

Terming the episode as a clear indication of cringe-worthy sexism, Neetu Prakash, an economics professor and a regular participant of several women’s rights forums says, “It is not just infuriating but also very saddening to see such instances, as it stems from a medieval way of thinking. This isn’t the first time Sunny Leone has been targeted. Let’s not forget she remains to be one of the most searched people on the Internet. Also, why are we digging the closet of someone who’s come way beyond it all The fact that we are judging someone who enjoys unprecedented popularity in the same country that shuns her for her past profession is hypocritical.”

Adding to how such instances expose the alarming trend of misplaced moralising, Romica, a sociologist in the city opines that she believes it all arises from the very fact that we are a little too stereotypical and veiled when it comes to several issues, especially if it involves a woman. “It’s high time we stop taking moral policing into our hands, that too on a public forum. To put someone down on the basis of what she wasn’t afraid about admitting, makes us a very sadistic, misogynistic bunch. I think as a well-informed group, we must shun such sadistic approaches that are a stark reflection of the unveiled demons in our mentality, which somewhere makes it legit to bring down a woman if she sways from our stereotypical ways of thought,” she concludes.