A still from the advertisement featuring Sunny Leone
Bollywood actress Sunny Leone has once more responded to the criticism of a condom commercial she featured in from a senior politician and the former chief of the Delhi Commission of Women. (Also Read:
Sunny Leone Responds to Politicans Slamming Her Condom Ad)
In an interview to
Hindustan Times, Sunny was quoted as saying, "I am promoting safe sex and unwanted pregnancies. If a family isn't ready to have a baby, it's a good method of contraception as it doesn't affect a woman's health, as compared to birth control pills, which affect a woman's body, mind and hormones. I don't see it as a bad thing."
When asked if she was being made a 'soft target', Ms Leone said in the interview, "Am I am soft target? Yes. I believe I am. Does it s**k? Yes. It's horrible that people see us this way. And I won't respond, because the moment I say something, the detractors get what they want (publicity). So, neither I nor my husband will let that happen."
In a video that appeared to have been shot at a rally in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, the national secretary of the Communist Party of India or CPI warned that the commercial will lead to more rapes. The video was uploaded onto YouTube by a channel called Khabar India. Barkha Singh, former chairperson of the Delhi Commission of Women, urged the government to withdraw the 'highly immoral' commercial from being aired on TV.
Sunny Leone, 34, starred in adult films before appearing on reality show
Big Boss and making her Bollywood debut with the movie
Jism 2 in 2012. Last year, she appeared in an advertisement for a brand of condoms called Manforce. Her pre-Bollywood roles was also roundly slammed by Atul Kumar Anjaan in his speech.
The actress has also, separately, been accused in May this year of obscenity by a Mumbai woman who filed a First Information Report or FIR complaining that Ms Leone has posted pictures online that amount to circulating pornographic material.
This year, Ms Leone appeared in the films
Ek Paheli Leela and
Kuch Kuch Locha Hai. Her next film, the sex comedy
Mastizaade, was cleared by the Censor Board last month.