Sanyukta Iyer & Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 18, 2016)

Ever since her face-off with a journalist on a talk show, from which she emerged dignified and graceful, it's been Sunny days for Sunny Leone with everyone from Aamir Khan and Varun Dhavan to Anushka Sharma and Alia Bhatt taking up for the actress.

Since then, Sunny has bagged a special song in Sanjay Gupta's Kaabil, opposite Hrithik Roshan, has also become the brand ambassador's for the Government of India's No Smoking campaign alongside Deepak Dobriyal, been invited to a private luncheon by Aamir Khan (Mirror, February 8) and welcomed on the sets of his upcoming wrestling-biopic.

Now, Mirror has learnt that the 34-year-old actress will be shaking a leg with Shah Rukh Khan in Rahul Dholakia's crime-drama Raees. And the chartbuster they will sizzle to is none other than Qurbani's "Laila O Laila" which featured Feroz Khan and Zeenat Aman.

Producer duo Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, who are fans of the classic number, acquired the rights to Amit Kumar-Kanchan song which is being re-recorded and rendered with faster beats.

"Raees is set in the '80s and there was need of a song sequence. The makers unanimously selected "Laila O Laila" which perfectly fits with the dark, gangster theme and period. It was suggested to Shah Rukh and it was his idea to get Sunny on board. A lavish set is being created in Mumbai and rehearsals are on in full swing," reveals a source close to the development.

The makers have planned a similar club set-up as seen in the original 1980 film with Sunny wearing a white, sequinned gown and a feathery headgear as she woos the Baadshah who plays bootlegger Raees Khan. In the film, his business is eventually thwarted by a police officer - Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Khan's ladylove is played by Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

Presently, Sunny is filming a solo hip-hop sequence for Jasmine D'Souza's One Night Stand also featuring Tanuj Virwani. "She will begin shooting for Raees next month. It will be a two-day schedule," the source adds.
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Subhash K Jha (DNA; March 18, 2016)

There’s no announcement yet, but expect one in the next few days. Sunny Leone will be seen sizzling with Shah Rukh Khan in an item number in Raees.

Says a source close to the project, “Shah Rukh, director Rahul Dholakia and producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani felt the film needed that sizzling number, that tadka. And that’s how Sunny Leone came into the picture.”

The details of the track are under process. But what can be said most confidently about this item song in Raees is that it would rival and equal Shah Rukh’s Ishq Kameena item song in Shakti with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Says the source, “This is a big leap for Sunny who has so far been avoided by A-list actors because their wives disapproved. Now with Aamir declaring he would love to work with Sunny, Shah Rukh has actually taken the plunge, breaking the taboo created among A-listers regarding Sunny’s past career.”