One Night Stand

Have we grown up, finally? I don't think so. But it sure is our lucky day when a female director, a female script-screenplay writer and Sunny Leone come together to give us an "adult" drama about casual sex, perfect marriages and the hypocrisy of men. I tip my hat to this trio while shaking my booty to my favourite song of the week, Do peg maar aur bhool ja, do peg maar aur...

By the standards set by the Sunny Leone starrers that have come before this one, One Night Stand is a rather staid affair. But that may not be as big a surprise as it may sound to some, given that the film has been written by a woman (Bhavani Iyer) and directed by another (Jasmine Moses-D'Souza). So the gaze here is not so much on Sunny Leone's curves as on the dangers inherent in careless flings. Not that the One Night Stand screenplay is anything to exult over, the film does represent a something of a departure for the lead actress.

Ever since the time Sunny Leone stepped into Bollywood, there has been no looking back for the actress. Besides being an eye candy to the cinegoers, she is now also attempting to come out of her comfort zone and do challenging roles. This week's release ONE NIGHT STAND is one such film, wherein the film's makers have tried to present Sunny Leone in an interesting role.

A chance meeting between a mysterious woman and a champion event organiser leads to a crazy night spent mostly in a bathtub and partly on a couch. They are content, thinking their paths will never cross again. But they do, and the audience is also given a skewed feminism debate, delivered Sunny Leone-style.

This isn't quite what I bargained for. Contrary to what the film's publicity and songs would have one believe, One Night Stand isn't yet another tawdry skin-flick with exploitative cleavage shots in place of a script. It is, in fact, rather strikingly, a film without a hero and with two strong female characters, a film that has something to say. I expected a film celebrating a romp but I was pleasantly surprised to watch a cautionary tale instead.

After a steamy night filled with passion, Urvil (Tanuj Virwani) and Celina (Sunny Leone) return to their regular lives. He is a typical young achiever with a lovely wife by his side, who has no idea about his sexcapades. Celina is devotedly married to a top-notch businessman and has the most picture-perfect family. But, Urvil cannot get her out of his mind. He becomes an obsessive stalker who wouldn't settle for anything less than either having her or destroying her.

A hot-shot event manager has a one night stand with a beautiful stranger. No spoilers there, because the plot point is inherent in the film's title: can't get more explicatory than that, can it? It's when the roll in the hay is done and dusted, and both parties return to terra ferma, that this film starts getting a little interesting. Both Urvil (Tanuj Virwani) and the woman who calls herself Celina (Sunny Leone) realise that a little bit of unthinking lust can cause, um, complications.