Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone

2021-07-02T13:35:42Z

2409:4043:2312:1E64:0:0:4D9:38A5:

{{short description|Indian web series}}
{{infobox television
| name = Karenjit Kaur – the untold story of Sunny Leone
| image = Karenjit Kaur – the untold story of Sunny Leone.jpg
| caption = Poster
| genre = [[Biography]]
| screenplay = {{Unbulleted list|Karan Shrikant Sharma (season 1 & 2)|Niranjan Kaushik (season 1)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://justformoviefreaks.in/entries/just-stream/karenjit-kaur-review-precise--satisfactory-|title=Karenjit Kaur Review: Precise! Satisfactory!|website=justformoviefreaks.in|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>}}
| director = [[Aditya Datt]]
| starring = {{Unbulleted list|[[Sunny Leone]]|Bijay Anand|Grusha Kapoor|[[Raj Arjun]]|Karamvir Lamba}}
| theme_music_composer = [[Rachita Arora]]
| composer = {{Unbulleted list|Anurag Shanker (season 1)|Tallz (season 2)}}
| num_seasons = 3
| num_episodes = 20<ref>{{cite news |title=Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story Of Sunny Leone second season announced; to premiere on 18 September- Entertainment News, Firstpost |url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/karenjit-kaur-the-untold-story-of-sunny-leone-second-season-announced-to-premiere-on-18-september-5007831.html |work=Firstpost |date=21 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
| list_episodes = #Episodes
| executive_producer = {{Unbulleted list|Sanjay Mehta(season 1)|Sudhir Narayan Sherigar (season 2)|Shahnawaz Iqbal Dabhoiwala (season 2)}}
| producer = {{Unbulleted list|Kishor Arora|Akash Chawla|Shareen Mantri Kedia|Arunava Sengupta}}
| cinematography = {{Unbulleted list|Keiko Nakahara (season 1)|[[Priya Seth]] (season 2)}}
| editor = {{Unbulleted list|Jitendra Prakash Dongare (season 1)|Sandeep Kurup (season 2)}}
| runtime = approx. 20 - 25 mins<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment/reviews/movies/article/karenjit-kaurthe-untold-story-of-sunny-leone-episode-1-reviewit-takes-nerves-of-steel-to-tell-this-bold-tale/252141|title=Karenjit Kaur:The Untold Story of Sunny Leone Episode 1 review:It takes nerves of steel to tell this bold tale|access-date=2018-09-21|language=en-GB}}</ref>
| company = {{Unbulleted list|Namah Pictures|Fresh Lime Films}}
| distributor = [[Zee5]]
| first_aired = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
| last_aired = {{End date|2019|05|21}}
| website = https://www.zee5.com/zee5originals/details/karenjit-kaur/0-6-tvshow_984782182
| based_on = The Life story of- ''[[Sunny Leone]]''
| country = [[India]]
}}

'''''Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone''''' is a [[ZEE5]] Original web series. The series captures the journey of former pornstar-turned-actor [[Sunny Leone]], born as Karenjit Kaur in a middle-class Sikh family, and her makeover from being an innocent girl to an adult film actress and eventually a Bollywood star. The twenty-episode biopic premiered on the platform on 16 July 2018 on ZEE5 in multiple languages, including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://zeenews.india.com/people/sunny-leones-biopic-to-premiere-on-zee5-from-july-16-watch-teaser-2121675.html |title=Sunny Leone's biopic to premiere on ZEE5 from July 16—Watch teaser |accessdate = 2018-07-02|publisher=Zee News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/sunny-leone-karenjit-kaur-season-3-release-date-zee5-trailer-the-untold-story-2007343|title=Sunny Leone’s ZEE5 Biopic Will Conclude With Season 3 on April 5|website=NDTV Gadgets 360|language=en|access-date=2020-02-13}}</ref>

== Description ==
The biopic stars [[Sunny Leone]], [[Raj Arjun]], Rysa Saujani, Karamvir Lamba, Bijay Jasjit Anand, Grusha Kapoor, Vanish Pradhan and Marc Buckner. Karenjit tells her story on her terms, in her inimitable style – one with no regrets. Right from her reasons of getting into the adult industry, choosing the name Sunny to owing meeting her husband to the industry itself.

Directed by Aditya Datt and written by Karan Sharma, the series reveals her history, family, boyfriend-turned-husband Daniel Webber and traces lesser-known facts about her transformation from an adult film star to a popular actress.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/karenjit-kaur-the-untold-story-of-sunny-leone-season-2-trailer-charts-actors-trying-journey-5063641.html|title=Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story of Sunny Leone season 2 trailer charts actor's trying journey- Entertainment News, Firstpost|date=2018-08-28|website=Firstpost|language=en|access-date=2020-02-13}}</ref>

The show was primarily shot in [[Cape Town]] and [[Mumbai]]. The shoot was over by May 2018.

== Cast ==
* [[Sunny Leone]] as Karenjit Kaur Vohra/Karenjit Kaur Weber/Karen Malhotra/Sunny Leone (Herself)
*Rysa Saujani as Young Karenjit<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/rysa-saujani-karenjit-kaur-the-untold-story-of-sunny-leone-5199903/|title=Rysa Saujani on playing younger Sunny Leone: The role was emotionally very challenging|date=2018-06-01|work=The Indian Express|access-date=2018-09-11|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Bijay J. Anand as Jaspal Singh Vohra
* Grusha Kapoor as Balwant Kaur Vohra
* [[Raj Arjun]] as Anupam Chaubey, a news anchor
* Karamvir Lamba as Sundeep<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://realtime.rediff.com/news/entertainment/Sunny-Leone-introduces-Karamvir-Lamba-who-essays-her-reel-life-brother-in-Karenjit-Kaur/cfeb9a98b60df8ab?src=interim_alsoreadimage|title=Sunny Leone introduces Karamvir Lamba who essays her reel life brother in Karenjit Kaur - Rediff Realtime News|website=realtime.rediff.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>
*Vansh Pradhan as Young Sundeep
* Marc Buckner as Daniel Weber : Karenjit's Husband.
* Johan Badh as Nate
* Joanna Robaczewska as Tanya
*[[Ritu Shivpuri]] as Neena, Jaspal Singh Vohra's love interest

== Episodes ==

{{Series overview
| released = y
| allreleased = y

| color1 = #000814
| link1 = Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone#Season 1
| episodes1 = 10
| start1 = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}

| color2 = #8B96A9
| link2 = Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone#Season 2
| episodes2 = 6
| start2 = {{Start date|2018|09|18}}

| color3 = #3F556D
| link3 = Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone#Season 3
| episodes3 = 4
| start3 = {{Start date|2019|04|05}}
}}

===Season 1===
{{Episode table |background=#000814|overall= |season= |title= |titleR=<ref name=title>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zee5.com/zee5originals/details/karenjit-kaur/0-6-tvshow_984782182/episodes|title=List of episodes|website=www.zee5.com|access-date=2018-09-21}}</ref>|director= |writer= |airdate= |released=y |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 1
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = Talking Tough
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 2
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = City of No Angels
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 3
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|Title = Virgin Mary
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 4
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|Title = Taking the Plunge
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 5
|EpisodeNumber2 = 5
|Title = Birth of Sunny Leone
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 6
|EpisodeNumber2 = 6
|Title = The Devil Wears Nothing
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 7
|EpisodeNumber2 = 7
|Title = As Bad As It Gets
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 8
|EpisodeNumber2 = 8
|Title = Love at First Sight
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 9
|EpisodeNumber2 = 9
|Title = The Black Sheep
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 10
|EpisodeNumber2 = 10
|Title = A New Chapter Begins
|DirectedBy = [[Aditya Datt]]
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|07|16}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = A62325
}}
}}

===Season 2===
{{Episode table |background=#8B96A9|overall= |season= |title= |titleR=<ref name=title /> |director= |writer= |airdate= |released=y |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 11
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = Beat around the Bush
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|18}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 12
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = Guilty of Doing It our way
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|18}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 13
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|Title = Is It Happily Ever After?
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|18}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 14
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|Title = The Princess and The Frogs
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|18}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 15
|EpisodeNumber2 = 5
|Title = The Last Wish!
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|18}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 16
|EpisodeNumber2 = 6
|Title = Time to Say Goodbye
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|18}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
}}

===Season 3===
{{Episode table |background=#3F556D|overall= |season= |title= |titleR=<ref name=title /> |director= |writer= |airdate= |released=y |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 17
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = Born to be a Chef!
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|04|05}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 18
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = Princess Finds Her Prince
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|04|05}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 19
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|Title = It’s Time to Grow Big!
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|04|05}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 20
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|Title = Flight to India…
|DirectedBy = Aditya Datt
|WrittenBy = Karan Shrikant Sharma
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|04|05}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 000000
}}
}}

== Reception ==
[[Firstpost|First post]] made a statement that the screenplay of the series is cleverly written and portrayed karenjit's life perfectly.<ref>{{Cite web|title=First Post Review|url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/karenjit-kaur-the-untold-story-of-sunny-leone-review-zee5s-new-series-is-a-biopic-done-right-4773101.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The writer did a great job by not implying on the sexual references and focus more on other aspects of her life. Sunny Leone's performance in her own life story is applaudable as she had to live her life and relive all the good and bad experiences all over again.

[[Hindustan Times]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hindustan Times Review|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/tv|url-status=live}}</ref> rated the series with 3/5 stars. The main focus of the story is on the girl raised in a conservative Sikh household and her journey from becoming an adult star and entering bollywood. The series displays her story with a bit of a melodrama that gives it the feel of a daily soap. The actors in the webseries nonetheless, play it subtly.

[[The Indian Express]] says that the webseries was surprisingly a smooth ride.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Indian Express Review|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/sunny-leone-web-series-karenjit-kaur-review-5263535/|url-status=live}}</ref> They were also critical about a few melodramatic scenes with few moments of poor acting. The series show parts were one can understand that Sunny has always been the dignified and hard-working individual she is admired for today. However, Sunny hardly has any screen time in the pilot of the series, and she did perform well on screen.

[[The Quint]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Quint Review|url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/karenjit-kaur-season-2-is-often-hilarious-and-strangely-affecting#read-more|url-status=live}}</ref> gave a review of the series getting quite good responses in Season 1. The first season shows most parts of Sunny's love life. The new season, however, is much more interesting. The most remarkable thing about season 2 is how all the 6 episodes show only bits of Sunny’s porn career. The webseries clearly doesn’t have the best production values. Anyhow, the second season makes Karenjit feel more human than ever.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.zee5.com/zee5originals/details/karenjit-kaur/0-6-tvshow_984782182 ''Karenjit Kaur - The Untold Story of Sunny Leone''] on [[ZEE5]]
*{{Imdb title|6009150}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karenjit Kaur - The Untold Story of Sunny Leone}}
[[Category:Hindi-language web series]]
[[Category:Indian drama web series]]
[[Category:2018 web series debuts]]
[[Category:ZEE5 original programming]]
[[Category:Works about pornography]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone