For a news channel interview earlier this year, Sunny Leone had been asked if she thought Aamir Khan would ever work with her, among a series of inappropriate questions with reference to her former career as an adult film star. "Probably, never," she had replied back then.
Almost 10 months down the line, the star not only invited Sunny to his Diwali bash, but has also lent his acting coach, Prakash Bharadwaj, to her. By her own admission, the actress spends the better part of the day with Bharadwaj. "My acting-cum-diction coach takes up most of my mornings. I follow it up with dance rehearsals, something I never miss. Whatever is left of the day is devoted to work-outs," says Sunny.
Bharadwaj has been working with Aamir since his 2006 film 'Rang De Basanti' and proudly claims to be the reason behind his impeccable Haryanvi accent in 'Dangal', which hits screens next month. "I have worked with Katrina Kaif, Preity Zinta and a lot of other actors.
I come from a theatre background. For me, it doesn't matter where a student comes from. I am a pakka teacher who trains each student depending on his/her flaws. I don't follow a particular formula, but work according to each individual's talent and projects," he says.
During their first few meetings, the coach understood Sunny hasn't been flexible with roles in her four-year Bollywood career. "She is hard working and dedicated, and made my work a lot easier. We started working together from early July. She shared her scripts and the initial process included understanding the hurdles she faces. I found out she isn't a fan of emotional scenes, and that needed work," Bharadwaj explains.
Sunny is working with Arbaaz Khan on a film that had an intense scene for which she trained for weeks at a stretch, he says. "Now, she manages to feel the emotions in a story and cry without glycerine. She also has a comedy film with Manish Paul. Her sense of humour is wicked and on screen, it looks even better now. She has always been bright, but is now able to find confidence in her craft."
Though her Hindi continues to be a problem area, Bharadwaj says she is improving by the day. "She understands the language well, but was not comfortable speaking it. I insisted that she included more Hindi in her daily conversations. Her homework includes writing her thoughts down in Hindi. She makes fewer grammatical mistakes now," he adds.