Never a victim, but a trailblazer: Life lessons from Sunny Leone's interview with Bhupendra Chaubey

(First Published in Firstpost)

“I didn’t think that this is wrong. I thought of it as being beautiful, and I thought they’re sexy, they’re beautiful, they’re free, they’re doing whatever they want to do. And that’s how I saw it.”

When Sunny Leone honestly responded to the question of her career choice in the infamous interview, she revealed amazingly candid honesty and courage. So much so that it ended up honoring a so-called dishonorable profession. More than the nature of the interview, the narrative seems to have shifted towards how bada** Sunny Leone is, and how she maintained her calm. Surely, there's a lot to be learned from her.

Here are some life lessons that the most searched woman on Google taught us, thorough this interview.

Lesson 1: What may be ‘wrong’ for society can be “right” for you as an individual

“Sexy” and “ beautiful” in Sunny Leone’s response doesn’t just imply the body but the attitude. It’s beautiful to be free. It’s sexy to be who you are. What Sunny saw in those naked women she is referring to, at the age of 18-19, was a sense of liberty to be themselves, irrespective of the judgement of ‘right’ or ‘ wrong’.

Lesson 2: Own your past and be proud of it.
Your past is a part of who you are. When you honour it, you empower both the present and the future.

If Sunny can acknowledge that nothing is a mistake and she would willingly make the same choices, it speaks a lot about the faith in one’s decisions; society and it’s social ‘values’ be damned. Her current position in Bollywood is a classic case of making the best lemonade out of the lemons in her basket.

Lesson 3: Only hard and honest work counts. Not what others think.

The common fear amongst everyone is that they don’t take certain actions out of the fear of being judged. Stop caring about the world. Instead, care for what you want and what you have to do to get it. Work. Work hard. That’s indeed true worship. To the self.

Lesson 4: Stand up for yourself without overreacting.
The mention of an Aamir Khan, the so called hero or the biggest, most ‘respectable’ actor, is clearly meant to provoke Sunny Leone into feeling small in comparison. But Sunny refused to react and gave the perfect answer. An Aamir Khan or any other actor refusing to work with her does not reflect on her. She is who she is — another Khan fan in this case.

Lesson 5: Do not apologise for who you are
Many women around you are prone to be insecure, if you have an attractive personality. The insecure ones need to understand that no one is after their man or prize or whatever. The secure ones need to be accepting of the rest. As for the man in question, well, we are giving him way too much importance.

Lesson 6: Business is not a dirty word

Work for passion, money follows. There is no difference in the way one earns money. Like she puts it, the interviewer is getting paid to ask her these questions just like she is paid to do her job. There is no shame in either work or money.

Here is Sunny Leone's response to the love and affection shown to her after the interview:

“Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the love, all the support you’ve given me over the last couple of days. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, and I wouldn’t be here without your love. Just as much love as you’re giving me, I want to give you all the love in the world back – so, I love you guys.”

And finally, Lesson 7: Be graceful in your victory
Be graceful in your gratitude and refuse to be the victim. Her very simplicity and refusal to sound righteous even after all the support she received post the interview, shows a very sorted and level headed, confident woman.

A pioneer. That’s Sunny Leone in her new avatar.