"I don't need one picture to dictate my parenting to my children and someone to judge me based on one picture," Sunny Leone told DNA.
B-town star Sunny Leone will soon be seen in and as Anamika, an intriguing spy-thriller, directed by Vikram Bhatt that will stream on MX Player from March 10.
We recently caught up with the diva and talked at length about the series, her character and much more including how challenging her journey to become one of the biggest stars in Bollywood has been, the issue of pay parity in the industry, if she thinks women are judged easily based on their outfits and backgrounds and how does she deal with the negative on social media which sometimes even targets her parenting skills.
Here's what she had to say.
1. Sunny Leone opens up on the journey to becoming a Bollywood star, the challenges she faced
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"I think every actor/actress has their own challenges and their own story. Mine are may be very different from other people. I do have to say that there's been more good than bad moments in my career and for that am very grateful to the people who've been so supportive whether it's within the industry or whether it's from the media and my fans." Sunny Leone added, "Yes, there are lots of people out there that don't like me or they find a reason to protest about certain things or they voice their opinion and it's not so nice, but for the majority, it's mainly nice people otherwise what would I be doing here. In that way, the journey's been amazing."
2. Sunny Leone reflects on whether women are judged easily on based on their outfits, backgrounds
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When asked if she feels that women are judged easily based on their outfits and their backgrounds and have it a tad bit more difficult than men, Sunny Leone told DNA, "You are only a victim if you want to be a victim. So, I wear what I want, I do what I want. I don't care what people think. It's all relative to that person and their own emotional state. If you believe that you should feel bad, then you'll feel bad. If you let a stranger dictate how your emotions are going to be that day, then you're going to feel bad. In my opinion, that person who's saying all those crazy things, or judging me, doesn't live with me, doesn't pay my bills, doesn't have my family, doesn't live in my house have anything to do with my life except for that one comment. So, why should I let that person bother me?" She added, "As far as work goes, and things being harder and more difficult or easier, I think that if you approach life in a different way instead of 'poor me', your outlook of what you have will look so much better. So, if we always focus on what someone else has and what someone else's life is like, whether a man or a woman, or whether we have better choices or not, I think it's all relative to how you want that person/people/gender to hurt you."
3. Sunny Leone shares her opinion on pay parity
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Speaking her mind and sharing her opinion on the topic of pay parity, Sunny Leone told DNA, "I don't know...I'm not looking at someone else's pay, I'm looking at my own and whether I'm happy with it or not and whether it's paying my bills, my children are fed, my mortgage is paid, whether I'm able to go shopping if I'm shopping on a holiday. That's what I'm looking at. Why do I have to look at somebody else's paycheque and compare it? Why am I involved with somebody else's life? I have no reason for that. I think if you made 5 dollars then you made that. What you do with it is your choice -- whether you save it or spend it. I am not going to look at what others are making. Why are others' lives so significant that I have to compare their paycheques with mine? I know people do that and I understand that their difficulties, their mindset and their psychology of where they are at that moment in life, their backgrounds, their childhood, everything plays a little part in how they feel at that moment and why they think that they need to compare themselves with someone else. But really, shouldn't we focus on ourselves, our own mental health, families, well-being, livelihoods in our own space and bubble? I think people would be a lot happier in life if we just focus on ourselves. I have been in weird situations like everyone else has. But we need to find out how to overcome that and focus on healing from within so that we are happy on the outside as well."
4. Sunny Leone on juggling between work and raising three children
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When asked how's she managed to fulfil her work commitments and raise three children, Sunny Leone told DNA, "It's sometimes a struggle, sometimes it's not. It's all about scheduling. I am very fortunate I have a very hands-on husband and he's a great father and we switch back and forth on who is doing what -- who is dropping, who is taking to the ballet, who is taking for soccer, who is going to the gymnastics, who is making dinner etc. Sometimes, yes, it's tiring but we really wanted children. We love every second of our day with them and when they are not around we miss them terribly. I think we have more separation anxiety than our children do. It just comes down to scheduling properly and having a lot of communication between yourself and your children."
5. Sunny Leone on how she deals with negativity on social media, those targeting her parenting skills
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When asked about negativity on social media and the time when trolls targeted her and passed nasty comments accusing her of giving more attention to her twins than her daughter Nisha, Sunny Leone told DNA, "I think that the person who wrote that is someone who is not a part of my daily life. I don't need one picture to dictate my parenting to my children and someone to judge me based on one picture. How about you live your life in my shoes for at least 5 minutes before you sit and judge me, my kids and my family and my parenting skills and me loving one over the other! I mean, it's ridiculous, it's childish. Any parent out there knows what it's like to raise a child and there are also parents out there who know what's it like to raise multiple children. For the comments that were made, 'grow-up', that's what I'm going to say."
