Sunny Leone is starting on a 'regular' B-Town film, and tells DT about stuff you wouldn't normally expect from a porn star - on considering to quit the porn industry, how her parents raised her and how watching Hindi films with her mum was a tradition, and how, while growing up, visits to the temple were a must. Excerpts:
Hindi lessons for 'Jism 2' I am taking Hindi lessons every day, and we're focussing on me saying it correctly. I am slowly getting used to talking in Hindi again, because I haven't spoken Hindi since the last time I was in India, in January. It's a process, it's like riding a bike, once you start using it, it comes naturally after a while. My parents spoke Punjabi, and we'd watch Hindi films. So I understood Hindi and Punjabi, but they never forced us to speak Punjabi in the house because we were living in Canada and they understood that as children, we wanted to be just like everyone else outside.
Watching movies was a mother-daughter tradition My mother always loved the idea of the mainstream work that I'd do. She and I would watch Hindi movies all the time. It was a mother-daughter thing. My dad and brother weren't always interested, they'd start making comments, being boys.
On religion and spirituality Growing up, going to the temple was a must for us. I grew up in a typical Punjabi home, but at the same time my parents knew that we weren't in India. Those little rules and things that people do here, they knew that they had to conform to America/Canada. They knew that stopping us from doing certain things wasn't healthy. But at the same time, they taught us about our culture and religion. They were diligent about giving us knowledge about where we came from. As you grow older, at least for me, you realise that God lives in your heart. You don't have to go to the temple to worship.
People will watch the film because of who I am It's the most amazing feeling that people are responding to me and I really want to do a good job with this movie. When people watch the film, I want them to forget about Sunny Leone and focus on the character. I want to be a believable character, because "Jism 2" has a great script and story. Of course, I know that the people who're going to watch the movie are going because of my name and who I am. I hope it's something they look past and see me as someone who wants to work hard. I have had the most amazing experience with my new fans here. It could have gone one or the other way for me. I don't know if I got lucky or people just liked me. And as far as acceptance from Bollywood is concerned, if my fans love me and see the movie, then that's all the acceptance I need. I can't take one man's opinion and let it hurt me.
Debut jitters It's my first movie and I keep thinking to myself, how many actors do I know out there whose first movie was the most amazing thing that people have seen? It's hard! You watch the first movie that Angelina Jolie made or Shah Rukh Khan made. Was it amazing? Probably not. As hard as I am on myself in being a perfectionist and doing a good job, I also understand the realism of that fact.
Friends from Bigg Boss Pooja Bedi, Sky and Juhi are my friends. Juhi and I recently went for a spa afternoon. I'm indifferent to everyone else on the show. Will I see them again, do I want to be friends with them? Probably not. I don't want to say anything mean or horrible to them because it's not worth it. You've got to move on, you can't live in "Bigg Boss" forever.
Losing weight for the film It's not so much about losing weight, but I want to look my best. I'll still go and have a plate of French fries, but if I have 10 plates of that it's probably not a good idea. I was not given the gift from God where I have the metabolism of an 18-year-old, where they can eat anything and they don't gain weight. I work very, very hard for this. As an actor, you want to look your best, that's your job, that's part of the job description. If my job was sitting behind a desk, then I wouldn't care as much about my body or shape because nobody was looking, or judging. Nobody was saying 'oh my God, she shouldn't have eaten that last plate of fries because I can see it on her.'
The other night, when I saw Mahesh Bhattji, he said, 'you've lost a little weight', and I was like, 'no!' But he wasn't saying it, like, you need to lose more weight. He was saying it, like, you need to eat more. Future plans I plan on staying here to shoot more movies. We have a few more offers on the table. There's a lot of people offering work. My plan is to ride the roller coaster that I am on right now. I believe that things happen for a reason in life, and this is the most amazing opportunity of my life.
On quitting the adult film industry I only make one film a year, and at the moment I am not sure what the future holds. I won't say that I am finished with it. Every time you hear a girl say, 'oh I am done', whatever industry she's in, especially in that industry, it's the complete opposite. My plan is to be in India, keep shooting, keep working, and stay busy.
On Ram Gopal Varma wanting her to do an item number in "Department" I've gotten tons of other offers, but I'm in a contract right now with Pooja (Bhatt). As much as I'd love to take one hundred and one million different jobs because it's in my nature to want to keep working, my agreement right now is with them. I don't see any reason to rush things. He (RGV) seems like a really nice guy, and maybe one day he'll cast me in a movie where I am the star instead of just for a dance number.
