All eyes will be on Leone when she makes an appearance at the ongoing Pro Kabbadi League. Today's matches take place at the The Dome, NSCI in Worli, Mumbai. Leone has been invited as celebrity guest. More than her presence, Sunny Leone's move to sing the national anthem before the games will evoke plenty of interest from the audience and the nation at large.
It's no secret that like most NRIs, the Canadian-born Leone will always face a challenge to master the Hindi language. Add to it the fact that Nobel laureaute late Rabindranath Tagore had written our national anthem in Sanskrit.
The sports network even shot a promo video with Leone asking fans to watch her sing the national anthem tonight.
So, when the clock hits 19.30 hours today, everyone will be curious to know how Leone goes about her task.
One will be hoping that Leone has prepared herself thoroughly for the challenge. After all, a national anthem is very dear to every patriot. History is replete with tales of PILs (Public Interest Litigations) filed against celebrities for not reciting the national anthem in its true form and spirit. There is never a shortage of citizens who keep filing suits against celebrities, often these suits are trivial in nature.
Back in May, 2016, Amitabh Bachchan was amused when one gentleman from New Delhi had filed a complaint against the veteran actor for taking too long to sing the national anthem. The complainant, Ulhas PR, had claimed that Bachchan took 1 min 22 seconds to sing the anthem as against the 52 seconds as per the guidelines set by Ministry of Home Affairs. Bachchan was invited by the International Cricket Council and Indian cricket board to sing the Indian national anthem at the opening ceremony of the World T20 in Kolkata, India.
We assume that Leone must be aware of such controversies, and has accordingly prepared herself for the task.