Sunny Leone: I Am Here To Make Money And Have A Good Life

Her last film Ek Paheli Leela didn't do well at the turnstiles, but Sunny Leone is still smiling. The adult star-turned-Bollywood actress is gung-ho about her upcoming film Kuch Kuch Locha Hai.

Spotboye.com caught up with her last week. Excerpts from the conversation that followed:

How did Kuch Kuch Locha Hai happen?
Actually, I signed this movie many years ago. Devang (Dholakia, the director) was one of the first people that I had meetings with when I first came into the film industry. I had liked the story a lot back then and it just took a little time to conceptualise. That's how it all came together.

Tell us a little about your character in the film...
The central character is Mr Pravin Patel or in short, PP. He is an uber fan of this girl called Shanaya, which is my character. He is always fantasising about her. Luckily for him, he wins a date with her.
My character doesn't know that Mr Patel has a wife and a child. He is a lot older than me. He goes through a series of funny events trying to impress Shanaya. So I am one of the characters that all the madness is happening around.

Buzz is, this is your most glamorous role...
Look, I play a Bollywood actress. So my character is definitely very glamorous (smiles). I meet PP on the date and ask him to help me out. I ask him to teach me more about the Gujarati family ways and their lifestyle because I am about to play a Gujarati role in one of my future movies.

Considering its such a glamorous role, what kind of outfits are you wearing?
Hitesh Kapopara has styled me in this movie. He is my stylist and styles me for all my movies. For my character in this movie, he has sourced out many outfits from different places and different countries. He actually went shopping in various countries. He also designed some of the outfits that I have worn in this movie.

You're paired opposite Ram Kapoor, who is a big TV star. Had you seen his work before shooting with him?
Yes, I have seen some of Rams works in the past. But you never know what somebodys personality is going to be like till you meet him/her. And the first time that I met Ram, I saw that he is loud, talkative, funny and charming. It was nice to meet somebody who has so much energy and I knew right from our first meeting that he and I would have so much fun working together.

As the title suggests, Kuch Kuch Locha Hai is a naughty comedy. Were you apprehensive of doing intimate scenes with Ram?
There are no intimate scenes in this movie. Its a family comedy. Mr Pravin Patel is married and he promises his son that he will not do anything that will hurt his wife. He just wants to fulfil his dream of being with Shanaya.

You've practically had a fairytale run in Bollywood. What makes it all the more special is that you didn't have a filmy background or a Godfather backing you; you did it all on your own. How did it all fall into place?
My husband (Daniel Weber) and I came into this industry and we had no idea what we were getting into. We didn't know anything about Bollywood, how it works, cinema, anything we didn't know anything. We are not part of a star family. We didn't have a Godfather showing us the way what to do, what not to do, which projects to take. We had to figure all that out on our own. We didn't know who is good and who is bad. We just Googled the names (laughs) and tried to find out as much information as we could based on the few people that we do know. So it was definitely not easy. 

So have you been conned in Bollywood at any point?
I have met some very interesting people in the industry (laughs). There have been a couple of moments where we just sit back and wonder: 'How did this happen? How did this person use I don't know is it the charisma or the way of talking but how did this person con us into agreeing to this either a project or an event or a shoot? And when those moments happen, its not a good feeling obviously. But again, there's a lesson to be learnt in everything that you do. So now we keep a tally, we have a long list (laughs) of things to do, things not to do, people to trust, people not to trust I think its with any industry actually, it doesn't really matter if its Bollywood or Hollywood or the  corporate world when people go to work, there's always somebody who's trying to squeeze his/her way to the top or get you to do things that you didn't think you would do.

In a short span of time, you've bagged many films and keep working round the clock. Don't you miss having a social life or attending parties?
I'm here to work as much as possible, work every single day. So if I don't go to a few parties, I am ok with that. I am here  to make money and have a good life. I am not a teenager in the world of entertainment. I have seen it, I have done it, I have been around it and right now, my main focus is to just keep working. 

Your star has been on the rise ever since you stepped in Bollywood. In hindsight, do you wish you had come sooner?
If I knew that I would have this life, I would have definitely come into this industry sooner. My life is beautiful. I wake up in the morning thinking ‘I am so lucky. Things like these don't happen to girls like me, with the background that I have. They just don't. Its one in a million opportunity that has been given to me. And I plan to stay here as long as people want me to (pauses).

Go on...
I wont say that good things don't happen. Id say that these kinds of opportunities dont present themselves to everyone. And I think the way that I entered into this industry, it was probably the best way--- because people got to see me in their living rooms on their TV set every night  (Bigg Boss) They got to see me cutting sabji, making rotis (smiles), interacting with everyone, learning Hindi...you know, doing all these things that they would have never seen me do if I had directly appeared before them in a Hindi film. So I think the way things happened, happened for the best. I believe that everything happens for a reason. And I am happy that people saw me on that show first.

A documentary is being made on your life. What sparked the idea of making a documentary?
Yes, there's a Canadian production house that has already finished shooting a documentary on my life starting from where I was born, where I was raised, the people that I was raised around when I was in my hometown, to my journey to California, and then my journey to Bollywood. Its a complete life story of what has happened with me. I call this documentary 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Think of it, nobody's life is all bubblegum and roses. There are great things that have happened in my life and I am very happy for those. But there are things that people don't know about my past and who I am. And I think this documentary will really help people understand my background and my journey.   

So can we expect this documentary to be a tell-all?
The documentary has to run closest to the truth. I am not here to tell you a fairytale story. I am here to tell you my story. And it is important that I tell you the truth on camera. So it is a story about good things, bad things, people who hate me, people who love me...it is going to be a teller.

The work ethics abroad are different as compared to Bollywood...
 It has been interesting to learn the way of life here, how everything works, how people function. People here are emotional and I was the typical American who does not necessarily have that emotion while doing business (smiles). Business is business and you cant put your feelings...or you have to at least try to not bring in your emotions in the way. At the end of the day, its all about numbers and the bottom line is your gross revenue - and that's it.

Last but maybe not the least, you become the most searched celebrity online last year...
I believe that the Sunny Leone brand is a product of the social media and the Internet. A lot of people don't know that I built my own affiliate program, a WebMaster program and I taught myself HTML, how to edit videos, how to edit photos. So I built all that on my own and learnt how to market my name and brand online. And I am good at it. All said and done, I am in a very happy space. 

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