Parched director Leena Yadav is no stranger to Hollywood associations. Her repertoire of collaborations includes some of the biggest names in showbiz, and the latest to join the fray is Susan Cartsonis, president of Stonefront Pictures. Susan has previously produced well-known films such as What Women Want and The Mistress Of Spices.
Speaking of Leena’s other works, her feature film Teen Patti had done an East-West merger by bringing together Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley. Parched is photographed by Russell Carpenter, the cinematographer of the timeless James Cameron tearjerker Titanic.
Talking about her latest collaboration with Susan, Leena says, “Yes, I am doing my next film for Susan Cartsonisis. We’ve discussed a few ideas and we’ll zero in on one very soon.”
Leena began her career with the lukewarmly received film Shabd, which featured Aishwarya Rai, Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan, followed by Teen Patti. Working with stars apparently put her off the idea of big names, and she decided to not work with them — a resolve she stuck to for six years.
But Parched she says, was a true calling. “I won’t do it (work with stars) ever again. Parched would not have been made with stars. It needed actors. I’ll always work with actors. Besides, Parched is what I am. It is the film that I was always supposed to make. It took me a long time to get here. But I am comfortable now.”
Having said that, she is grateful to Ajay Devgn for producing it. According to a friend of Leena’s husband, Aseem Bajaj, Devgn gave Leena the money to make Parched saying, “This is my gift to my friend’s wife.”
