Sunny Leone made her debut with Jism 2
Jism was made by Pooja Bhatt in 2003, 9 years prior to its sequel.
We have all bore witness to Sunny Leone’s successful transition from the adult entertainment industry in the US to a mainstream Indian actress. Her film debut with Jism 2 happened at a time when most people did not know about her and those who did speak her name in hushed whispers. Essaying a bold and sensuous character in an erotic movie like Jism 2 came naturally to her but did you know that if things had turned out to be a little different, Sunny Leone would have made her debut with the first Jism movie itself?
Jism was made by Pooja Bhatt in 2003, 9 years prior to its sequel at a time when Sunny Leone was completely involved as an adult actress. Pooja Bhatt has recently revealed that the first choice for essaying the role of the female lead, ultimately played by Bipasha Basu was Sunny Leone. In a chat with Siddharth Kannan, Pooja said that in 2002, she had come across a snippet written by a publication on adult film actresses to look out for. It had Sunny Leone’s picture as well along with her professional details.
Pooja Bhatt, who was working on the script for Jism at that time, decided to cast Sunny. She was also able to contact her manager in the US but was informed that due to just having signed a contract with Penthouse, Sunny Leone would not be able to take up any other projects at that time.
Pooja then went ahead with Bipasha Basu, casting her opposite John Abraham in his debut, which she says she has no regrets about since Bipasha was stunning in the film. Pooja also said that Bipasha and John’s real-life romantic relationship at that time translated to an electric chemistry on screen.
Pooja did not forget about Sunny Leone though and made up her mind to cast her in the sequel years later. At that time, Sunny Leone was more easily accessible as she was a contestant on Bigg Boss 5 in 2011. Pooja’s father filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt entered the house to offer her Jism 2 personally, which she accepted.
