In a rather short span of time, Sunny Leone has managed to make a place for herself in the industry. The adult film star who made her desi debut in the reality show Bigg Boss landed a role with the Bhatt camp. Following a successful film debut in Jism 2, she was signed by one of the biggest banners in B-Town — Balaji Motion Pictures. In the first offering she grooved to an item song. Leading actress Priyanka Chopra was the other 'item girl' in the same film. Next she will be seen in Ekta Kapoor's pet project Ragini MMS 2. Meanwhile, Sunny has signed an endorsement deal for which she was paid the price that all A-list actresses demand. Not to mention her three-film deal with producer Parag Sanghvi for Rs5 crore. But is she an A-lister yet? After Hrs analyses...
Too early to declare
Industrywallahs feel that it's too early to label her an A-lister, though she has a huge fan following. An industrywallah cheekily points out: "She is an A-lister alright, only the A here still stands for 'Adult'." Fact: In Shootout in Wadala, her item song drew the maximum ceetees and taalis in the theatres. Figures show that her Laila song had more hits online than PeeCee's Babli Badmash. However, SAW director Sanjay Gupta feels she doesn't make the cut, "Sunny's just one-film-old and it's too early to slot her as an A-lister. She is one of the most-searched names on the internet. Now whether it's for po*nography or not, who are we to judge? But the fact is that she is a brand with a massive mass appeal and that worked with the genre and the audience we were trying to reach."
Gupta adds that Sunny has a curiosity value which works in her favour. "Women are more eager to check her out than the men. The curiosity value is very high, ki yeh Sunny aakhir kya hai? "
TRADE BUZZ
According to trade pundit Komal Nahta, one of the pre-requisites for an A-lister is to work opposite an A-lister. "More than an actress, right now Sunny is a massy product, so I would not list her as an A-lister yet. It's just too early as she is only one-film and one-item-song-old so far." He adds that she will need to work opposite a biggie to get to the top slot. Point out that she is doing a big banner film working with Ekta Kapoor who is an A-lister and he explains, "Yes, but the film itself is not a mega-budget affair in itself befitting a big star. Sunny knows her domain and is only exploring that so far. As of now she has limited space."
It all 'ads' up for Sunny
Brand expert Harish Bijoor, says he would call her an A-lister, "From the brand endorsement perspective, I would call her an A-lister because she comes with a huge following. But as of now, she is only brand specific. She suffers when it comes to being wholesome family entity, because of her background, so she lacks the all-rounder appeal. She may not be deemed suitable for several products unless she changes her image through her films. But that will be a gamble since it is her image that has made her an instant hit here in the first place. So, in a way she's an irreverent A-lister." As for remuneration, experts suggest that due to a lack of transparency it may be hard to peg her right figures. "It won't be surprising to know that she actually does charge as high as any A-lister actress, as she is definitely a brand in herself and not just in India," adds Harish.
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