Experiment of mind, body and heart

Sunny Leone

Do you believe you can find true love on a reality show? Well, the makers certainly believe so as they air the 14th season of Splitsvilla. After hosting eight editions, Sunny Leone is convinced too, and doesn't buy into the criticism that the reality show is frivolous in nature or it is only a game of petty politics and stunts in the garb of pursuing love. "They are 19-and 20-year-olds. What are you expecting?" she asks, adding that Splitsvilla is not a show about people finding life partners, but a psychological experiment to understand how youngsters react to meeting potential love interests.

"We have never said that the show is about people getting married. These are young people being challenged emotionally, physically, and psychologically [to understand] their feelings when they meet somebody. It is about them being beautiful, crazy, making wrong decisions, trying to rectify them, learning from their experiences and being out of their comfort zone," explains Leone, despite the fact that most romantic relationships developed on the show don't sustain outside the set. "The bonds that they form are above and beyond a romantic relationship. Even if they have been fighting with each other on the show, they are together now," adds actor-host, who has been paired with Arjun Bijlani this season, as her long-time co-host Rannvijay Singha couldn't fit the show in his packed schedule.

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While Leone and the audience loved their combination as mentors on set, she is confident that Bijlani will find a way to win people's hearts. "It is not Arjun's first show, he has hosted some of the biggest TV shows before. We hit it off instantly. I am lucky to have someone easy-going to work with," she says, adding that even though she also misses Singha, she knows he is only a call away. "I obviously miss him, but we are close family friends after having spent so many years together."