Mostly Sunny

I really loved the movie, pictures the journey of a girl who had the confidence to transition from an adult industry and be accepted by the audience of India

I want to know where the song " Yahaan wahaan" which plays at 53:26 mins of the movie is taken from?

A relatively interesting, albeit superficial documentary about a middling-to-low intellect woman who makes it big from porn--particularly in the subcontinent. The film details the self-orchestrated rise to stardom (lit. to a lechers' idol) of the Canadian-Indian porn-cum-Bollywood actress, "Sunny Leone".

The central theme of the film is money and her erurience for making as much of it as possible. The capitalist / colonialist influences that imbue her every utterance, are clear to discern (even if she is surely complete unconscious of it): she sells herself -- be it as a proud, on-screen whore, or as something more wholesome -- to the highest bidder, in an effort to realise her dreams of, frankly, being rich. (NB: She makes a point of disabusing the audience of any assumption of her being "poor" in her childhood -- only that she could was not given "everything" she wanted, was all.)

Of course, as is often the case with porn actors, "Sunny" seems to have the same delusion of grandeur: imagining herself as a 'Meryl Streep' locked in a naked vessels of tawdry titillation. Most all of her ilk seemingly (indeed, comically!) suffer from the same pathological obliviousness to what is laughably obvious to everyone else: that their only allure is the erotica they engage in -- an allure lasting not a minute longer than the dopamine intoxication in their voyeurs' brains does! To be fair, however, this is something that is touched on later in the film -- when "Sunny" ruminates on her reception by what she fantasies of as being her (Bollywood) acting peers.

The biggest take-aways from this film for mine were, 1) the reverberative effects of females entering into pornography at a young (teens) age -- regarding their their apparently ubiquitous stunted maturity and intellect; 2), the rather seedy and almost puerile nature of Indian attitudes towards sex, the sex industry and its workers -- especially accentuated, in light of the veritable rape epidemic that the nation has been afflicted by for Shiva knows how long (see: Indian banned BBC doco "India's Daughters", for a deeper insight); 3), the de rigueur exploitation of females in said fields and how women / girls themselves even enable this environment to flourish; and 4), the decadent societies that we exist in (rich or poor), which foster, propagate and perpetuate these sordid industries, and which render them as lucrative as they have become.

NB: A special mention with regards to her introspection relating to "Sunny's" parents, which appears in the latter part of the film -- her child-like admissions of guilt (...?) here, cast an umbral shadow over her story; and therefore must be seen and factored in, in order to provide context for the film (and her story) as a whole.

7.5/10

Honestly don't understand what all the bad ratings are all about. I came back tired from work all ready to watch some mindless cat videos on my phone and crash. My roommate just casted the documentary on our TV screen (Thanks Netflix!) and the film got me interested right from the start. Maybe it's because I went in with no expectations.

I loved the tiny details the movie goes into to show what Sunny might have faced while trying to enter Bollywood as a world-famous pornstar. I was very interested to see what worked for her team that was working on the rebranding of Sunny. Sunny Leone comes across as a meticulous businesswoman who is very aware of what her brand stands for. She's also adept at hiring talents that work tirelessly and passionately for her. Being an outsider in Bollywood is hard enough. I think it's unfair to consider whatever she has achieved till now as just a facade. The team has quickly realised she won't cut it as an actress. But they look like thick skinned business people who can take a hit if it comes their way, and although that's not surprising it's refreshing to see a documentary that shows things as they are.

The film also shows the dichotomy of India's conservative culture and the Bollywood that entertains that culture, through the brand of entertainment that Sunny is.

What I would have liked to see less of was all the emotional scenes connected with the death of her parents. It felt like they were interspersed just to make Sunny feel more ...I dont know...human? But we already know that. But I understand where the director is coming from. Although I couldn't stop myself from comparing those bits to the sob stories "reality" talent hunt shows come up with on Indian television.

Sound and editing are pretty nice. Made me Google for Dilip Mehta. And then I realised Deepa Mehta and David Hamilton have worked on the film. And then it all made sense. :)

Mostly Sunny abounds in poverty porn. I have no problem with showing Indian poverty if it makes sense for the script. Is this a social or economic documentary about Indian class differences? About Indian capitalism? No? Then why is the documentary peppered with poverty shots?

Is it to contrast Sunny's fortune with the country's unfortunate? Then, would a documentary about a rich Hollywood actor be filled with gratuitous shots of homeless white people or the white working class in the country?

It is almost a tourism of poverty. The camera watches poor people like they're in a zoo, on display for the director's viewing pleasure.

If a biographical documentary about Sunny Leone has to extend to economic inequality in India, show the rich and the poor people and areas equally. Provide context. Don't rely on racist stereotypes to fill in for your laziness. Do justice to the story of the individuals you're filming. Don't treat them like props you can sample as you choose.

Possibly the most jarring part was prostitutes on the street hurriedly covering their face as the camera films them. One of them yells her objection. This isn't about the freedom of documenting the truth. This is about filming vulnerable sections of society because as a middle class person, you can. This about exposing a shamed section of society to further shame, a targeted section of society to possibly further violence.

The song goes, take the weather with you ... but you could say take Sunny with you. And nowadays that is not that difficult. On the other hand, if you took her with you (she's happily married so you would not take her literally with you but only her body ... of work), you should make sure your significant other is OK with that.

Now for those of us who may not have heard of this woman known as Sunny Leone (not her real name, that is revealed in the movie and it's also revealed in a beautiful and funny anecdote how she came up with that nickname of hers), hold on, because we have an adult porn star here. And you may ask what is so special about her? She achieved what many in the porn industry can only dream of. A career in the mainstream. So it is in Bollywood and maybe a lot of producers do cast her because of her past (very likely the case), but she made it. And she stayed down to earth, demystifying some of the clichés surrounding female adult stars. It's not the greatest documentary ever, but it is interesting ... and for fans of Sunny a must see - be it because they love her Bollywood films or her other work ...