Sunny Leone is all set to take the south by storm. And it isn't through an 'item' number.
The Bollywood actor, who has so far mostly appeared in song sequences and erotic films, will be playing the lead in a period film which will see her in the role of a warrior. According to reports, the film will be directed by VC Vadivudaiyan and will be made on a huge budget.
The film, which is originally to be made in Telugu, will also release in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. Technicians who worked on Baahubali are supposedly working on the film.
Confirming the news, Sunny Leone posted a video in which she says she's very excited about the film and that she's always wanted to play the role of a warrior. The actor dismissed the question of whether this would change her "image" by saying she believed "everything was a stepping stone to something greater."
"My character is extremely strong. Any representation of a woman that I'd love to play is her because she is extremely strong. She is an independent woman," she said.
Telugu cinema is fond of period films and so far, it's Anuskha Shetty who has been playing the lead in projects where there the central protagonist is a woman.
Sunny Leone is extremely popular in the south, just as she is in the rest of the country. In Kerala, where the actor went to inaugurate a showroom, a sea of people turned up just to catch a glimpse of her. But can the actor pull off a Telugu speaking character convincingly? We'll have to wait and watch!