INDIA—The irrepressible Sunny Leone was shown the Bigg Boss door on New Year’s Eve, but during her roughly six-week stay on the popular Big Brother-like Indian reality show, which broadcast daily, the Indo-Canadian Vivid Girl and upcoming AVN Awards co-host not only revealed herself to be a contestant of uncommon composure, but she also attracted the interest of a well-known Bollywood filmmaker.
Mahesh Bhatt ended up offering her the lead in Jism 2, a long-awaited sequel the 2003 erotic thriller, Jism, both of which share the same producer, Bhatt's daughter, Pooja. The elder Bhatt actually traveled earlier this month to the Bigg Boss house—located in Karjat, a town about halfway between Mumbai and Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra—to meet face-to-face with Leone.
"Our first meeting was successful,” said the director. “She was very happy when I offered her the movie. Now the discussions will take place between Pooja (Bhatt) and Sunny's agent about the further details. I hope that everything works out and she will soon start shooting.”
In May, Bollywood.com reported that Pooja was on a mission to find the "ultimate woman" for Jism 2.
"I want to find a woman who's confident, not just in body, but in her mind and spirit, too,” she said. “That's the kind of person I am looking for to act in Jism 2. She needs to be demanding, intelligent, stunningly sensual and beautiful. Perhaps too much to ask from the typical Bollywood actor."
The original Jism starred Indian actress Bipasha Basu and John Abraham, a former model making his big screen debut. Basu and Abraham were also a real-life couple who broke up in early 2011, ending speculation that they might appear in the sequel.
On the Jism 2 website, Sunny is officially attached but costars and a director have yet to be announced, though Mahesh Bhatt said in early December that a decision on who to cast as the male lead would have to wait until after Sunny was out of the Bigg Boss house.
That took place a week earlier than hoped for by Sunny, who told the Times of India her eviction a week before the show’s January 7 conclusion was “bittersweet. Bitter because I couldn't make it to the finale as a contestant, and sweet because in the New Year, I'm going to be on the outside with friends and family and as part of normal life!”
