Mahesh Bhatt entered the Bigg Boss 5 house to offer the lead female role in Jism 2 to porn star Sunny Leone. It was earlier speculated that the film is based on the life of Sunny Leone. However, Mahesh Bhatt confirmed that Jism 2 is just a fictional tale and he along with daughter Pooja Bhatt had earlier considered Bipasha Basu and Mallika Sherawat for the film. Speaking to a leading newspaper, Mahesh Bhatt said, “This film’s story is based on a girl’s journey from ebb to rise.”
Mahesh Bhatt also added that Pooja Bhatt always wanted to work with Sunny since she had a mystic element to her off screen image. Stating that Sunny Leone's life as a porn star is a complex memoir, and is a journey of transformation from a girl-next-door named Karen Malhotra to being the porn star that we all know - Sunny Leone.
As Jism 2 required not just a beautiful face, but also someone who could understand and emote the depth and emotional intricacy of the character, they thought Sunny Leone was the perfect choice.