Anurag Kashyap on why he chose Sunny Leone for Kennedy: ‘I needed a woman over 40, who is sexualised by men around her’

Sunny Leone is on cloud nine for starring in Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy and being at Cannes Film Festival for the first time for the premiere of the film. Before walking the red carpet along with Sunny and Rahul Bhat at the film’s premiere in the Midnight Screening section, Anurag revealed in an interview why he chose Sunny for the role of Charlie in the film. Also read: Anurag Kashyap gave Sunny Leone videos of Anushka Sharma, Raveena Tandon to prep for Kennedy: They laugh wholeheartedly

Not much is revealed about Sunny’s character in Kennedy, but there is a small glimpse of the actor in the teaser. She is seen breaking into a laughter after getting into a lift. The film revolves around an insomniac ex-cop, assumed to be dead, but looking for redemption.

Talking about Sunny, Anurag Kashyap told Film Companion on the sidelines of Cannes 2023, “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.”

“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.”

Sunny on working with Anurag

In November last year, Sunny had told Hindustan Times about working with Anurag Kashyap, “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.”

Opening up 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?”