Before Sunny Leone launched her acting career with Pooja Bhatt’s Jism 2 in 2012 and became a household name in India, she was primarily known for her work in the adult industry. However, the actress has now built an electric repertoire of some great Bollywood films. Leone has lately been in the news for her debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival where her film Kennedy, directed by Anurag Kashyap, had its world premiere.
“The entire journey coming from the adult entertainment stream, going to Big Boss (2011) and getting my first film offer as soon as I came out of the house, and everything just taking off. We all do things that we need to do in certain moments. How we evolve is how we build our character in life. So that entire journey — fighting different groups, trying to get my foot in the door, because everyone says ‘No no, no’, trying to be the brand ambassador for certain products and someone saying ‘No, you cannot,” she told Indian Express.
She further added, “Fighting through different stigmas, these nasty articles, it was definitely not easy. I tried to be dignified through the entire process. So when he (Kashyap) called, I was so happy because no one had picked up the phone like this before, to give me a chance to prove myself."
When asked whether the negativity of being the former adult entertainer halted her growth, she said, “I believe God loves me very much, but he also says, Sunny, you’re going to have to work for it. Lots of things happened in the last 10 years, emotionally draining, hurtful. Lots of people had written me off and had no faith in me. I’ve tried to navigate through that with a smile, and being as grateful as possible, that’s why this moment is so special."
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