Many in Bollywood are likely to feel outraged at my comparing its two stars Priyanka Chopra and Sunny Leone. But, I must point out that while an “eastern” Priyanka is welcomed by Hollywood, and has made it on Time magazine’s latest cover and shares dinner and vibes with the Obamas, a “western” Sunny is struggling to win acceptance from those who would yet ogle at this former porn star.
The two have much in common but a lot that is not. Both have roots in Punjab. Both are in their 30s and at what would seem the height, if not the top, of their respective careers. Both are gritty without being aggressive, and both have self-respect.
My idea is not to compare their acting prowess but look at the way they are looked upon. The “desi” Priyanka is okay for everybody.
But Sunny is shunned by many in Bollywood.
“One of the award shows I went to, no one wanted to go on stage with me.
“It was such a weird feeling, someone hates you that much... or someone dislikes you that much…,” she told Delhi Times last week.
Priyanka, while running the gamut in Bollywood is its latest gift to Hollywood, Sunny is journeying from the West, where Maxim magazine rated her as one of the world’s top 12 porn stars in 2010.
An oriental Priyanka has successfully nurtured a global image, to be written about by The New York Times, while Canadian American Sunny, although born of Indian parents, has distinct western persona that seems to impede her rise.
Her task is difficult but not impossible considering the success that Britain-born Katarina Kaif and before her, late Parveen Babi and veteran Zeenat Aman, had achieved.
But, Sunny’s porn star past troubles co-stars who are uneasy working or being seen with her. Male co-stars’ families reportedly consider her a wench.
“I don’t need your husband — I have one,” Sunny has said. But, there are no barometers to find if she is to be trusted.
Sunny or Canada-born Karenjit Kaur Vohra, will be 35 next Friday, leaving behind her days as a Penthouse Pet (2003) and much else. No stranger to both fame and controversy as a porn star, actor, singer, activist and TV presenter, she has settled in Mumbai, formally registering as a person of Indian origin (PIO), and is trying to fit into the glitzy Indian showbiz.
Many foreign actors have embellished Bollywood films. Among them, in the 1960s was Malaysian Maria Menado.
The race to reach global audiences makes Bollywood look for White women actors. But, they are more like showpieces.
Sunny has been more than that. “I’m not sure if I fit into Bollywood even today,” she says after five years in Bollywood with a string of films all of which show her wiggling her chiselled 38-24-36 body covered, or uncovered, in enticing ways.
Her western upbringing allows her to make love to male partners on the screen with aplomb, albeit within Indian censorship norms.
Castigated as “B” and “C” grade, her films often run into censor troubles for their “sexy” scenes embellished by double-meaning dialogues.
The quality of her acting, the films she has starred in and the success rate are mixed but which actor or filmmaker can boast of total success?
Many of them have made money but are not outright box-office hits. Perhaps, Indian audiences adore skin, but want more than that for their money’s worth.
She stormed Bollywood via a reality show that drew complaints with the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Colors TV channel was accused of promoting pornography by featuring Sunny on the show. Among the complainants were the Indian Artistes and Actors Forum and Anurag Thakur, a young lawmaker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party who also doubles as a top cricket honcho.
Sunny takes this all philosophically. Her oriental roots prompt her to say the world is made of “pittal” (brass), not gold. But brass will not crush her spirit. She is determined to shine, gold-like. Gratuitously asked in a TV interview if the “past” embarrassed her, Sunny took no offence and conducted herself with grace that won her audience sympathy. The interviewer earned flak from the social media.
Now look at the taller slimmer (34-24-34) Priyanka, the earthy actor, singer, producer and philanthropist. Although some of her early films had bombed, she has gone on to win both critical and commercial acclaim.
Daughter of Indian army doctors, she worked her way through beauty contests (Miss World Pageant 2000) to enter Bollywood. She has done some meaty roles to the envy of her competitors and is applauded and awarded — National Film Award, the Filmfare Awards and this year, Padmashri, the fourth highest civilian award.
Her Hollywood debut came in 2014 after she joined the long line of bombshell models for the clothing line, Guess. She has since done Quantico, becoming the first South Asian woman to headline an American network series and is filming for Baywatch.
Although she has been cited by media outlets as the world’s sexiest Asian woman and as one of the most fashionable celebrities, dusky Priyanka comes across as a cerebral blogger and a columnist.
Education for girls remains a passion with her since she was appointed as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights in 2010. She is known for her professionalism and goes by her initials, PC — perhaps the first in Bollywood, since the passing away of the legendary RK, Raj Kapoor.
Of her debut for Guess, Priyanka told the NYT: “For me, the proudest thing about it was being someone of ethnicity to break the quintessential bombshell mode. That girl has changed. She can be from anywhere.”
If Priyanka can become that “girl from anywhere”, why not Sunny?
Mahendra Ved, NST's New Delhi correspondent, is the president of the Commonwealth Journalists Association 2016-2018 and a consultant with ‘Power Politics’ monthly magazine