Mumbai, Oct 27 (IANS): For actress Sunny Leone, it was an uphill task to work in the Vishnu Manchu-starrer film 'Ginna'. In addition to the language being unfamiliar to her, she essays a deaf and mute woman in the film. The actress put in a lot of hard work to lend authenticity to her part in the film and not make it look like a caricaturist depiction of disabilities on screen.

The empathic portrayal of the character was of prime importance for Sunny. She trained in sign languages for a few weeks with an acting coach, before the film's shoot began.

Revealing her process, Sunny said, "My coach and I sat and storyboarded the character's graph. Along with the director and writer, we tried to understand the backstory. Then the real challenge of bringing a true-to-reality portrayal on screen. My coach helped me by providing several reading materials and videos for my understanding."

It not only helped her crack the psyche of the character better but also gave her a peek into the minds of people who don't have the luxury of voice and words."

She further mentioned, "Rehearsal was key. So before every important scene, I rehearsed for an hour. Expressing through eyes was a key facet of nailing the character. I also learnt sign language which was important to fleshing out the character further. I would also like to thank Venkat Kona without which the same would not be possible".

On the work front, the actress just completed the shoot of 'Splitsvilla' in Goa last week.