New Delhi [India], Feb 14: An improbable prop is helping a farmer in Andhra Pradesh to shield his crops from what he describes as the evil gaze of passers-by. Ankinapally Chenchu Reddy has put up two large posters of actress Bollywood sensational Sunny Leone in a red bikini outside his roadside plot to distract people’s attention away from his property.

There’s an amusing message in Telugu on the posters: “Don’t admire me.” “It’s simple, more people will look at Sunny Leone’s pictures and fewer at my farm. Believe me, it’s working. My crop yield has improved day by day,” Reddy said. The 10-acre farm, where he grows cabbage, cauliflower, okra, and chillies, is located in little-known Bandakindipally village in Nellore district.

Farmer Reddy also mention that “Year after year, I would suffer losses because of a poor yield. The crops looked healthy for some time, but then something would go wrong,” said Reddy, who is in his fifties. “It then struck me that my farm is located next to a road and every passer-by can see it.”

On January 13 this year, a curious choice of date considering his superstitions, he installed the two banners, which cost him Rs 600. “It’s been a month and I can see the difference. People don’t look at my farm as they are busy staring at the pictures,” he said.

“ My friends told me I should get her pictures because she is very popular,” he said. The farmer had considered other tactics, including using a scarecrow like image, to ward off the “evil eye”, but after his friends’ counsel, he went ahead with the posters.