Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; November 2, 2018)

During her visit to Kochi last year, Sunny Leone famously brought the city to a standstill. It may be time for Kerala residents to brace themselves again as the actor is set to foray into Malayalam cinema. While rumours about her Malayalam debut have been doing the rounds since August, Leone confirms to mid- day that she has greenlit the Santosh Nair-directed slice-of-life film, Rangeela.

“Veeramadevi [the bilingual period drama] was physically challenging while the web series, Karenjit Kaur, took a toll on me emotionally. So, I wanted to do something light hearted,” says Leone, who kicks off the project early next year. The road trip movie will be shot across Goa and the southern states.

Stating that the casting is underway, Leone adds, “We will start workshops soon. Since the style of functioning in the South industry is different from that in Bollywood, I’m looking forward to learning a lot.” Mention that the film will require her to pick up a new language and she quips, “Hindi aa gayi, I’ll learn Malayalam also.”

Producer Ponse Stephen of Sunny Leone-starrer Veeramadevi reveals how he is spending Rs 40 crore on computer graphics alone
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; May 28, 2018)

Considering Veeramadevi marks Sunny Leone's debut in the South film industry, the makers are leaving no stone unturned in making it a spectacle. Days after the makers claimed that they are spending Rs 40 crore on the visual effects of the film, producer Ponse Stephen tells mid-day that the CGI plays a crucial role in the ambitious war drama that sees the actor as a warrior princess. "About 90 per cent of the film will be VFX-supported. We will be employing miniature cinematography in the film, the technology is still in its nascent stages in Indian movies. We are being meticulous in our prep," says Stephen.

In order to do justice to the large scale of the multi-lingual magnum opus, the makers are said to have roped in VFX experts who worked on the animation of The Lord Of The Rings (2001) and Gods of Egypt (2016). Given the Rs 100-crore budget of the VC Vadivudaiyan-directed, Sunny Leone-starrer venture, comparisons with the Baahubali franchise, the biggest blockbuster of Indian cinema, are inevitable. "Baahubali is about rivalry between siblings whereas Veeramadevi is about enmity between kingdoms. Baahubali has created history at the box office. We will work hard to make sure our film too sets certain benchmarks."

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; February 10, 2018)

The past few days have been frenetic for Sunny Leone, whose Tamil film Veeramadevi went on floors in Chennai. Considering the period drama sees her playing the titular role of a warrior princess, the actor has been training extensively in horse riding and sword-fighting. “My muscles got sore in two days as I have done a lot of horse riding and sword-fighting — that too, while wearing heavy armour. But, I had a lot of fun,” she tells mid-day.

While the actor has made a cameo appearance in a song in Tamil film Vadacurry (2014), the V C Vadivudayan-directed film marks her debut in South cinema as a leading lady. With a film that is centred on her character, Leone hopes it will help change audience perception. She says, “It’s going to be a long and gruelling film, but I am up for the challenge. I have always wanted to do action sequences and this film has allowed me to push my limits. It’s a different role and I am sure my image will change after this film.”

Although she is trained in the basics of horse riding, Leone says she will have to learn to balance while galloping and cantering. “I had learnt the English way of riding, which is relatively more poised. For this film, I had to gallop the horse with another 50 of them behind me,” she reveals.

Determined to grab eyeballs with this performance, Leone says that she even tried to practice sword-fighting at home, albeit with hilarious results. “I was shooting for my new television show, Man vs Wild. I borrowed a dummy sword from the show and practiced at home. But when I reached the set, I realized they had real swords and they were really heavy,” she laughs.

Although a portion of the film has been shot in the last few days, she reveals that the major chunk of the multi-lingual drama will be filmed in May. “By the end of the shoot, I’m sure I’ll have added many new skills to my resume.”