Anurag Kashyap On Picking Sunny Leone For ‘Kennedy’: Needed A Woman Over 40, Who Is Sexualised By Men

Sunny Leone is currently in Cannes for the premiere of her film, Anurag Kashyap's ‘Kennedy’. Before walking the red carpet, the actress, along with her co-star Rahul Bhat, attended the film's premiere in the Midnight Screening section.

While Sunny is on cloud nine to be part of the film, Anurag has now revealed why he chose Sunny for the role of Charlie in the film. While not much is shared about her character in the film, we do get a glimpse of the actor in the teaser of the film, which revolves around an insomniac ex-cop, assumed to be dead, but looking for redemption.

Talking about Sunny, Anurag Kashyap told Film Companion, “I swear I have never seen her films, ever. I have seen her interviews. There is a certain sadness in her eyes. There has been a life in the past. I needed a woman over 40, who is sexualised by men around her, men who are in their 50s and 60s. I don't need to see the act of sex and all that. I need to see this woman who is also dealing with it, also handling it, also using it all in order to survive and navigate. In Sunny, I found a woman who came with all those things inbuilt."

He added, “Second, I am very aware of the amount of money that she is paid in the market. I said this is not the kind of film. That question never never came up. She was just so happy and overwhelmed and said, ‘the fact you are thinking of me for this, I will do it.’ She really slogged, she really worked hard and that shows.”

In November last year, Sunny too had praised Anurag and told Hindustan Times, “He is amazing, very chill and laid back. I loved working with him. He was very serious about what he wanted from me and I tried to deliver that and he is happy, so that makes me happy.”

Talking about her audition for the film, she had said, “I was very nervous during the audition. It was nerve-wracking because he invited the entire office. All those working on the film were sitting there. The funniest part was it turned out like a test, he went around asking everyone, “What do you think? Does she fit in the role?”