Leone swings open the van door and steps out into the rain. She is wearing four-inch stilettos, a tight white minidress, and a black hooded sweatshirt with a rhinestone skull and crossbones on the back. Crew members part the crowd, which is now closing in on Leone, and escort her to the other side of the rope. She is soon exchanging dialogue with her costar Naseeruddin Shah, an esteemed character actor variously described as the Dustin Hoffman of India, the Peter O’Toole of India, the Laurence Olivier of India, and the James Earl Jones of India.
I stand behind the director’s monitor with Leone’s business partner and husband of two and a half years, Daniel Weber, 35, a tall, handsome musician, whose arms are sleeved with tattoos. I ask Weber whether this was all a little surreal to him. “I’m getting used it, but I still have moments,” he tells me. “Like now, seeing her in a scene with Naseer.” He motions toward Shah. “Everyone said this wouldn’t be possible.” Moments later, the film’s budget manager, a thickset man who has just arrived from Poland, walks up and introduces himself to Weber. They shake hands. “So you have chosen Bollywood over Hollywood?” the man asks. “Well—” Weber starts to say, slightly cocking his head. “Bollywood has chosen you,” the man tries. “That’s more like it,” Weber replies.
After a while, filming pauses and a handler brings Leone over to the journalists. One of them asks her to describe her experience in Bollywood. “It has been absolutely amazing,” she says. “I’ve been here for two years now, and I thank God that I’ve been given this opportunity. I’ve been working very hard to be here.” Another asks her to describe her character. “She’s just a girl trying to make a buck, trying to work. She’s a con artist. We’re all con artists in this movie.” A third asks why she was drawn to her character, who is the mastermind of the heist. “You don’t know what side of the fence she’s playing,” Leone says. “The audience never really gets to know who I really am. You’ll have to see who you think I am.”