On Thursday, looking at the crowds in Kochi's popular MG Road, an ignorant person would have assumed that this was a political rally. But though they didn't carry any flags, the crowd had an agenda for sure - to catch a glimpse of Sunny Leone, the outspoken actor, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
There was only one name on everybody’s lips in that sea of humanity – Sunny!
Sunny was in Kochi for the inauguration of the 33rd store of Fone4, a popular mobile retail chain. And the response was overwhelming. Crowds of fans stretched out for hundreds of metres in either direction, as thousands gathered for many hours just to get a single glimpse of the Bollywood actor.
Indeed, so overwhelming was the response that the police were forced to bring in reinforcements to keep the massive crowd in check.
"The whole road was blocked. A huge crowd of thousands of people had gathered. We hadn't expected so many. Though we had arranged security, we had to bring in an extra battalion. The crowd had gathered much before she reached the spot, so we were able to prepare. But people were crazy," said a Sub Inspector posted for crowd management.
Dressed in a beige, off-shoulder dress, Sunny ascended the small stage set up outside the store to a cacophony of cheers and roars from the crowd. As she took the stage and waved at the crowd, a chant of “We love Sunny!” rose up to a deafening crescendo.
Posting a video of the astounding response on Facebook, Sunny wrote, “No words...Can't thank the people of Kochi. I was so overwhelmed by the love & support. Never will forget God's own Country Kerala!”
Even many mainstream news channels livestreamed parts of the event on Facebook.
Earlier, a massive crowd had gathered at the Nedumbassery Airport, as well, to get a glimpse of the actor, who landed there at 9.30am.