Sunny Leone gets emotional talking about her Cannes debut: ‘I’ll be forever grateful to Anurag Kashyap for this’

As Kennedy premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, star Sunny Leone shared how she bagged the role of Charlie and why she is grateful to director Anurag Kashyap.

Sunny Leone becomes emotional every time she talks about her role in Kennedy, which premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival as part of the Midnight Screenings Section. “Unbelievable in every single way and so exciting” is how she describes the feeling.

Canadian actress Sunny Leone poses during a photocall for the film “Kennedy” at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)(AFP)

Born in Canada as Karenjit Kaur Vohra to Indian- Sikh parents , Sunny has had quite a journey. From being part of the Adult entertainment industry to her bold move to come to India and participate in reality show Bigg Boss, did she ever think that all of that will lead her to Cannes one day? “Absolutely not. Not even one percent. I’ve had some crazy ups and downs in my life but Anurag Sir picking up the phone and telling me I’ll be good as Charlie changed everything. Just that phone call made me so happy.” she gushes.

How Sunny bagged the role of Charlie in Kennedy

Sunny goes on to talk about how she bagged the role. “Even though I had not done an audition in a long time I was confident about delivering my lines but I was super nervous thinking what if they don’t like me. The best thing that happened after he started showing people this film while it was still in the edit is that people who had never spoken to me till now would walk up to me and say oh we saw Kennedy and we really liked your part. Even if nothing else come out of this festival he (Anurag Kashyap) has provided me with so much love, care and respect that I’m forever thankful for it.”

How Sunny became Charlie

A bevy of big Bollywood divas have hit headlines for walking the red carpet at Cannes this year but the honor to be present at the festival with her film goes to Sunny Leone alone. Talking to us about how she prepared for her role Sunny shares, “Anurag Sir wanted me to have this particular laugh . I think we all know people who hide behind their laugh and smile. Who makes you feel like everything is fine whereas they are breaking inside. I can relate to this. I understood her character. After everything that has happened to me in the last 10 years, the judgments and comments… people see me from and think I’m super confident, someone who is not insecure, who doesn’t feel bad about trolls but they forget I’m human too and these things do affect you.”

It sure is a huge moment for Sunny and as she herself puts it “The best feeling ever. I keep telling Anurag Sir, thank you for picking the phone and calling me because up till this point a director of his caliber has not. It’s a nice feeling.”

What’s next for Sunny?

So what next in store for her now that the Cannes dream has become a reality? “Impossible to predict the future”, she says. “For me it’s a moment I want to cherish. I can’t change the way industry is and start knocking on doors and ask people now will you work with me? I think it’s going to happen like its supposed to happen.”

When asked what would she like to tell her younger self Sunny replied, “I’ll tell my younger self to not worry. The sun is going to shine tomorrow. Everything I have done till now has not been easy, it hasn’t been handed to me. I had to work hard. So my story of a girl coming from one world entering a completely foreign world and somehow navigating and surviving it is proof that things work out. I’m most grateful to my husband for always being by my side.”

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