Sunny Leone Answers 'Obscenity' Complaint Filed in India

MUMBAI, India—Canadian-born Sunny Leone, who appeared in sexual roles in just 44 XXX-rated movies between 2005 and 2012—all either solo, girl/girl or with her husband Ariel King (who now goes by his real name, Daniel Weber)—has reclaimed her Indian heritage and "gone Bollywood" (that is, mainstream) over the past few years, but that didn't stop a member of India's informal "moral police" from filing a "first information report," or FIR, against the buxom actress, claiming that Leone has published "grossly indecent" material of herself on her website, SunnyLeone.com. According to an article on the India Today website, Mumbai housewife Anjali Vinod Palan, 30, has alleged in the FIR that "by launching her website on air, Sunny was promoting obscenity and affecting society," and that "Sunny Leone's pictures and videos on the internet is spreading obscenity in the society." Of course, no country's laws, including those of the U.S., define "obscenity" well enough that someone creating sexually explicit content can follow them and be sure to avoid an obscenity prosecution, but India's are worse than most. For example, Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, one of the sections under which the FIR was filed, defines obscenity as "a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object, [that] is lascivious or appeals to the pruri­ent interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt person[s], who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it." But that's not all. The FIR against Leone also references Section 292-A, which states that, "Whoever (a) Prints or causes to be printed in any newspaper, periodical or circular, or exhibits or causes to be exhibited, to public view or distributes or causes to be distributed or in any manner puts into circulation any picture or any printed or written document which is grossly indecent, or in scurrilous or intended for blackmail ... shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both." The section also defines "scurrilous" as including "any matter which is likely to be injurious to morality or is calculated to injure any person." (One can't help but wonder how these laws may have contributed to the 31,367,915 criminal cases that India had backlogged at the end of 2013, according to News of the Weird's Chuck Shepherd.) Also charged in the FIR are Sections 294 and r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code, plus Sections 3 and 4 of Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act 2000, all of which contain similar prohibitions. The most recent FIR was filed against Leone on May 24, but it was on May 14 that Leone took a few days off from filming the 8th season of the MTV India dating reality show Splitsvilla and visited the Thane police headquarters in Mumbai to record a statement answering the charges. "The objectionable video clips circulating here belong to when I was working in the adult film industry in the U.S.," Leone reportedly told the police. "I have distanced myself from any such roles after becoming a part of the Indian film fraternity. I feel it would be improper to haunt me with the past when I am trying to move ahead in life." "All know that Sunny has shot cult material in Los Angeles only before we came to India, and we just had to prove this," Weber explained. "It was not hard to prove as everything is documented. "Sunny is in a new chapter in her life and the word 'distance' is not correct," he continued. "I own and operate Sunlust Pictures in Los Angeles and will continue to do so. The adult industry has brought her to the level of success and worldwide acclaim that she has today, and she would never deny or challenge that. Sunny is always proud of who she is and where she came from to get here. In India, Sunny represents 'freedom to do as you please and have no regrets,' and the youth look at her as an icon." Leone has refrained from sexually explicit roles since 2012, during which year she starred in the Indian film Jism 2, but she is perhaps most famous on the subcontinent for her role in 2014's Ragini MMS 2. She also appeared in the Indian TV show Bigg Boss 5, which led to her film roles. At present, Sunny has signed contracts to do seven more films, and she is the ambassador for several global brands that are based in India. She is also developing her own perfume line, a fitness video line, a gaming app, and has three years' worth of confirmed bookings for events and performances. "India has been our home and will continue to be for the time being," Weber stated. "Sunny is a brand that India has never seen before so I believe it will take time for the culture to come to terms with our presence. We have built a life for ourselves and will not run when threatened. Sunny and I are bigger than that." Pictured: Sunny Leone in one of her film roles.