Sunny Leone has steadily built a career in Hindi cinema over the years, and her recent performance in Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Kennedy’ earned her widespread appreciation. However, her entry into Bollywood was surrounded by intense debate due to her background as an adult film star. She made her acting debut in Hindi films with Pooja Bhatt’s 2012 erotic thriller ‘Jism 2’, the sequel to the 2003 hit ‘Jism’, which starred Bipasha Basu and John Abraham.Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt revisited the circumstances that led to Sunny being cast in ‘Jism 2’. He revealed that Pooja Bhatt had already begun promoting the sequel with a silhouette-based poster long before finalising the lead actress. The campaign generated significant curiosity, leaving the team under pressure to announce the casting and begin production.At around the same time, Sunny Leone entered ‘Bigg Boss 5′ as a wild card contestant, a move that sparked considerable public debate. Recalling the atmosphere then, Mahesh said on ‘The Rashmmi Virag Show’, “There was some kind of noise being made around it, ‘How can you, in a country like India, get an adult star on a show that’s going to come into every household?’ India is a very different culture.”Mahesh explained that it was Viacom18 executive Raj Nayak who suggested he meet Sunny inside the ‘Bigg Boss’ house and consider her for a film, given Bhatt’s reputation for unconventional casting choices.“He was a bit worried that he’ll have agitation outside his outfit in Mumbai and also where they were shooting,” Mahesh recalled. After meeting Sunny, the filmmaker became convinced she had acting potential and recommended her to Pooja Bhatt for the lead role in ‘Jism 2’.Although ‘Jism 2’ performed well commercially, Mahesh believes it fell short of the extraordinary expectations attached to Sunny Leone’s casting. Reflecting on the film’s business, he said, “There’s a certain amount of hypocrisy we have. In fact, a distributor came and bought the picture at a phenomenal price. So, I remember telling him, ‘Either you’re a fool or there’s something I don’t see in the film. Because why would you pay a price like this for a film like this? And you haven’t even watched the film.’”He added that the distributor had a simple explanation: “So, he said, ‘She’s the most searched girl on Google in India. That shows her popularity irrespective of what the film is.’”According to Mahesh Bhatt, the audience’s preconceived notions about Sunny Leone ultimately worked against the film.“They didn’t want to see an adult star wanting to becoming a wife. They expected to see an adult star becoming a more naked and raw porn star. In fact, it offered the other kind of a story. So, that was the narrative flaw because the expectations were something else, and we delivered something else,” argued the filmmaker.Even so, he pointed out that the film benefited from immense curiosity during its opening weekend.“But in spite of the negative buzz, the film became a box office success because of the initial crowd it pulled in. It was 100% all over the first three days, and that was one of the reasons why it soared to a figure of Rs 30 crore in the first run. And it was a moderately made film,” added Mahesh.Despite the perception that casting Sunny Leone was a bold creative gamble, Mahesh described it differently.He called it an “accident” and a “coincidence” rather than a “pure act of audacity.”Speaking further about the criticism Sunny faced, Mahesh referred to former Chief Justice of India Markandey Katju’s remarks in her defence.“Yes, there was an audacity in casting her but as Justice Katju says, ‘Every saint has a past, and every criminal has a future.’ He was the only man who said why there’s such hue and cry about Sunny Leone. She was an adult star, but she can’t continue being a that and turn over a new leaf,” said Mahesh.The filmmaker also made it clear that the credit for introducing Sunny Leone to Bollywood belongs primarily to his daughter, Pooja Bhatt, who both directed and produced ‘Jism 2’.Looking at Sunny’s journey today, Mahesh expressed satisfaction over how far she has come, especially after her acclaimed performance in Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Kennedy’, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.“I was happy when Anurag Kashyap cast her, and she went to Cannes. She was sharing a platform which was very respectable,” he said.
