Rysa Saujani says playing 'mini' Sunny Leone was 'emotionally challenging'

Sunny Leone with Rysa. Picture courtesy/ Sunny Leone's Twitter account

Rysa Saujani, 14, says playing the "innocent years" of actress Sunny Leone's life in her upcoming show was emotionally challenging. "I am playing her innocent years between the age around 12-13 up to 15. I felt like the role was emotionally very challenging. I always wanted to play such types of roles that had a lot of emotional depth," Rysa, who will be seen as Sunny's younger version in ZEE5's show Karenjit Kaur - The Untold Story Of Sunny Leone, told IANS.

It required a lot of preparation. "Before arriving on the set, I did regular Skype calls, and felt like that helped me to understand young Sunny's journey a lot more. I was able to have my questions cleared which allowed me to act in my best ability," said the young England-based actress.

She is all praise for Sunny Leone whose real name is Karenjit Kaur Vohra. "I have nothing but respect for her. She has always been very gracious and made me feel comfortable," said Rysa. On learning from the life of the former adult film actress, she said: "Within my family, especially, we don't have the right to make any judgements about someone. This (the show) reemphasized the belief that I had. She is one of the most genuine people I have ever met."

Rysa doesn't watch a lot of Hindi movies but featured in the 2017 Bollywood film Dobaara: See Your Evil as the younger version of actress Huma Qureshi. "After doing 'Dobaara...', I felt that acting was something that I really wanted to do," said the Dubai-born actress. Any plans of shifting to Mumbai? "I am still in school and doing my education in England. I do really care about my grades and want to do well. So, because of my education it is better for me to stay in London," she said.

The winner of the Face Of The Globe Pageant 2014 - People's choice award is looking forward to attending an acting school in Los Angeles later this year. "I am also keen to continue in Bollywood and try going to Hollywood if possible." Talking about her favourite actresses, she said: "Emma Watson. She has been such an inspiration. Her acting is so realistic. The characters that she plays look so real. I want to do something like that where people believe that I am that character."

Also read: Pay USD 2,500 and grab lunch with Sunny Leone

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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from IANS