Desired by thousands of men the world over, the comely actress still remains Karenjit Kaur Vohra for her husband.(34) and(37)Sunny Leone’s story of love seems rather at odds with her steamy filmography. It was eight years ago when she first met her husband Daniel Weber outside a burlesque bar in Las Vegas. “For me, it was love at first sight,” confesses Weber. At the time, the rock and roll musician says, he had failed to gauge the extent of Leone’s popularity. “I saw her at a convention the next day and there was this line of a thousand people waiting for her autograph. Then, of course, I did my research,” he smiles. Leone compares his persistence to that of a stalker’s, and admits she was reluctant when agreeing to their first official date in New York. “Heath Ledger had just died. I wanted to be late by ten minutes, but I think I arrived thirty minutes after I was meant to.” A resolute Weber sent 24 roses to Leone’s hotel room. They dated for three years. Their marriage in 2011, they say, was a natural eventuality.For all its markers of conventionality, however, Leone’s and Weber’s relationship can in no obvious way be described as typical. Together, they had launched the studio Sun Lust Pictures in 2009. Weber still controls the running of the production house, whose mainstay for six years has been variations of an explicit adult cinema. Before Leone had been signed on to star in the arguably more risqué sequels of films such as Jism and Ragini MMS, Weber had, for some time, been the only male lead she had erotically cavorted with. Being husband to an actress so obviously fancied by thousands should expectedly bring with it a territorial dispute, but Weber seems to have come to terms with his wife’s desirability. “I guess it’s better than being married to someone, who people look at think, ‘Man, she is gross’.” As Leone chortles, he adds, “That’s a point in my corner. Yes, my wife had a career in entertainment well before I knew her and I am no one to say she should have lived her life differently. Millions loved her. God bless them. God bless her. And now, God bless me.”Leone and Weber laugh together with a warm frequency as they sit next to each other in a suburban hotel, but ordinary couples might be reassured to learn that the two do sometimes have differences. Weber, who decided to run his Brooklyn steel factory and band ‘The Disparrows’ from a distance in order to be able to manage Leone’s Indian film career, says, “The differences mostly centre around the genres of film she gets offered.” Leone makes mention of a role that would have seen her become a nun after being widowed. Weber says, “I thought it was a very emotional role that her audience wouldn’t connect to. Mastizaade, on the other hand, is great from a brand point of view.” Trailers of Mastizaade make it clear that much like Leone’s earlier Ek Paheli Leela, the sex comedy will see her play a double role. For the actor, splitting her personality is perhaps habit now.In conversation, Leone sometimes refers to herself as ‘Karen’, an abbreviation of Karenjit Kaur Vohra, the name she grew up with. Weber says, “I know this sounds schizophrenic, but in the end, it’s she Karenjit, who plays Sunny Leone. Karenjit is who I am married to.” So, is Sunny only an elaborate performance then, a careful deception? Leone reacts with aplomb. “I have now spent 15 years being Sunny Leone. At some point, you have to separate the two personas. The brand is a lot bigger than me.” Weber continues, “A brand many people in different offices of the world work on.”Like many other brands, Sunny Leone’s messaging can, at times, also be open to misinterpretation. A condom advertisement the actor had appeared in, was excoriated by CPI leader Atul Anjan as the cause which explained India’s rising cases of rape. Weber says he always reacts to such comments by “jumping in at the deep end”. He explains, “I first pace up and down our living area for 10-20 minutes. Then she (Leone) from the couch says, ‘Will you please ignore it? They are using my name in their speeches. Something is obviously going right’.” Leone adds with a laugh, “I just pray that someday Obama puts me in his speech, or Donald Trump. That would be great.” Interestingly, the couple were said to have made a more tongue-in-cheek political statement around the time the government tried to ban online pornography. With two winking emojis, Leone had tweeted a picture of her standing beside Weber, who was seen wearing a T-shirt with the words ‘Sex Sells’ emblazoned in gold. Weber tries to feign ignorance. “My mother chooses my clothes,” he claims. After some prodding, though, he adds, “There are four industries that are recession proof – alcohol, tobacco, oil and pornography. But I am a guest in India. I can’t comment on a governmental ban. A voter can.”Many in the press have interpreted Leone’s renunciation of her past as an adult actress as a disavowal, but contrary to claims, she says she isn’t apologetic. “Maybe someone else apologised for me. I never did.” Weber adds, “We started from nothing and we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished, and it is perfectly okay to reinvent oneself.” Leone corrects Weber. “I’ll call it evolution actually. As an entertainer, you always want to think bigger, to go further.” The raging debate on censorship, it could be argued, is proof enough of a squeamishness that has fuelled the righteous prudery of Leone’s critics. The actor, however, surprisingly preaches a more democratic understanding. “Each individual reacts to intimacy in a manner which is different. I understand social taboos. Even in the US, you never discuss an adult film when sitting at the dinner table.” Leone, who has often admitted to being an Aamir Khan admirer, finally weighs in on the intolerance controversy with a disarming half-smile, “There has to be some tolerance in India for me to still be sitting here.”