Parched Director’s Next Is To Be Produced By What Women Want’s Producer

Leena Yadav is no stranger to Hollywood collaborations. Her second feature film Teen Patti did an unthinkable East-West merger by bringing together Amitabh Bachchan and  Ben Kingsley.

Her on-release film Parched is photographed by  Russell Carpenter, the cinematographer of the timeless James Cameron tearjerker Titanic and several other films directed by James Cameron , Carpenter has gone on-record to state Parched is the best work he has ever done.And  Russell Carpenter charged no money for doing Leela Yadav’s Parched.

Parched is edited by Kevin Tent, who has edited the two last films of director Alexander Payne, namely The Descendants and Nebraska.

And now Leena is all set to collaborate with yet another iconic figure of American cinema. For her next film her producer is Susan Cartsonis the President of Stonefront Pictures who has produced well-known films like What Women Want and The Mistress Of Spices.

Apparently Ms Cartsonis was so impressed by Leena Yadav’s Parched that she have the director a cart blanche.

Admits the shy Yadav, “Yes, I am doing my next film for Susan Castsonis.We’ve discussed  a few ideas and we’ll zero in on one very soon.”

Leela began her career with the lukewarmly received film Shabd which featured Aishwarya Rai, Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan, followed by Teen Patti with Bachchan, Kingsley and Madhavan. The film introduced Shradha Kapoor to Hindi cinema. Apparently the experience of working with  stars put the sensitive filmmaker  off the star system for a lifetime.And she told her cinematographer husband Aseem Bajaj she won’t make films again. And she stuck to her resolve for 6 years.

Says Leena, “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.”

Leena says she would be stifled if  she had to work with Bollywood stars. “I won’t do it.Ever again. Parched would not have been made with stars. It needed  actors. I’ll always work with actors.”

That doesn’t stop Leena from being grateful to Ajay Devgn the superstar who producedParched. A close friend of Leena’s husband Aseem Bajaj Devgan just gave Leena the money to make Parched saying, “This is my gift to my friend’s wife.”