Anurag Kashyap on casting Sunny Leone in Kennedy; ‘Women over 40 need to be sexualized by men’

Popular filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is currently riding high on the positive reception for his film Kennedy at the Cannes Film Festival. The entire cast of the film including Sunny Leone attended the glamorous event and interacted with the Indian media. Kennedy also received thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the critics.

In an interview with Film Companion at the event, Anurag Kashyap discussed the process of casting the actors in the film. He confessed that he had never seen any of Sunny Leone’s films and had only seen her interviews. However, he knew she was perfect for the role after seeing “a certain sadness in her eyes”.

“I needed a woman over 40 who is sexualized by the men around her who are in their 50s and 60s,” she said in the interview. Though Sunny Leone has successfully showcased her acting skills in various pivotal roles since her transition from the adult film industry to Bollywood, her characters often revolve around her sex appeal.

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Anurag Kashyap had nothing to do with it. “I don’t need to see the sex act and all that. I need to see this woman who is dealing with it, managing it, using it all to survive and navigate. In Sunny, I found a woman who came with all these things.

She also indicated that he did not pay her the amount that she usually charges for films. “I said it’s not that kind of movie,” he recalled. Kashyap further revealed that Sunny Leone never mentioned this as she was simply grateful for the opportunity to play the role.

See also: Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy gets 7-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival; Netizens say ‘goosebumps’

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