Leena Yadav on working with the actor on a father-son story and developing four-fi ve international projects, among them the biopic of the first woman to join the LTTE
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 17, 2018)

Who came up with the intriguing title of Rajma Chawal?
Rishi Kapoor did. It plays a crucial part in the father-son relationship. He suggested the title during the narration. And I admit we ate a lot of rice and beans, along with other local delicacies found in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, during the shoot which Aseem (Bajaj, her producer-DoP husband) would get for us. Rishi would wave them away, saying he’d get fat, then stop Aseem, saying, “Wait, let me take a bite.” We feasted and laughed our way through the film.

The communication gap between father and son that forms the crux of the story reportedly struck an instant chord with Rishi?
Not just him but every man on the sets. Every son craves for his dad’s approval which is often hard to express in words. Even though we are three daughters in my family, this relationship has long fascinated me as I wondered if the dynamics might have been changed with a male sibling around. It’s the basis of five-six half-baked scripts lying around.

This story is Vivek Anchalia’s and I was instantly drawn to it as whenever we’re at a restaurant, I find every member of a family on the phone with no time for personal interaction. Aseem and I make sure the cell phone is never between us. We don’t even have a TV at home. Besides conversation, the only other thing we do is read. Even when we are working together, we have different lives and there’s so much to share.

Would you say your last film Parched, which won awards and accolades worldwide, has changed you as a filmmaker?
It has. I was hungry to make a film the way I wanted and when I was not able to do so, I told Aseem I was giving up. He wouldn’t let me quit and told me he’d produce Parched even though it was a difficult film to raise finance for. It was run down by everyone till Ajay (Devgn) came on board as producer. That gave us credibility, he also gave us the money to start the film. Without him Parched wouldn’t have been possible and working with a foreign DoP (Russell Carpenter) and editor (Kevin Tent) made me realise artistes have no boundaries. I learnt from them and their takeaway was that music is not just a distraction but can help tell a story. Shabd’s rejection had stunned me, Parched liberated me as a filmmaker and Rajma Chawal has grown out of that space.

After Parched you could have got your pick of actors, why settle for a newcomer, Aniruddh Tanwar?
I never write with actors in mind but take actors who fit the part. The role is bigger than all else.

Is Rishi Kapoor is a difficult actor to direct?
He’s the most unfiltered actor I have ever met and rather than get offended, I appreciate this quality. This collaboration has been most enriching because he comes with years of experience and an innate curiosity that makes him ask, “Why do you need a scene like this?” or “Why are we spending so much time on this when it’ll be edited out?”

You’ve travelled the world with Parched. Do you see yourself becoming a global filmmaker now rather than remaining an Indian director?
Absolutely, I’m already doing 4-5 international projects. One is an Australian production set in Sri Lanka, a biopic of one of the first women who joined the LTTE movement. I’m also doing two hardcore American films. I’ve spoken to Ajay about an international film that I hope will feature him. I’m grateful I’m getting to interact with such amazing minds.

'Parched' director Leena Yadav files police complaint as Gujarat's Rabari community raises pitch for ban on film
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; September 27, 2016)

Fresh trouble has been brewing for the makers of Parched with the Rabari community in Gujarat seeking a ban on the film. Parched's producer Aseem Bajaj, husband of the film's director, Leena Yadav, has been receiving calls threatening him with dire consequences if the film is not pulled out of theatres immediately.

The callers apparently claim that the costumes in Parched are similar to what the Rabari women wear and that the film shows them in poor light and is defamatory to their community. Parched stars Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla, Adil Hussain and Tannishta Chatterjee.

Says Leena, "It is a scary scenario. My husband is getting threat calls. I do not know how they got his number, but since the film released on Friday, he has been getting calls from different numbers. They are hurling expletives and have told him that the Rabaris are a six-million-strong community, so he should be wary. He has been flooded with nasty messages on WhatsApp as well."

As a precautionary measure, the makers have lodged a complaint with the Oshiwara police. "The cops have asked for the numbers from which the calls have been coming," informs the director.

Leena says her film does not make any mention of the Rabari community. "I have not named any community, caste or religion. There is a disclaimer about resemblances too. They are reacting to the costumes. I have used a mix of Gujarati and Rajasthani costumes. But, they feel it looks like theirs. If I wear a costume from Thailand, I do not become a Thai. Our identity is not made by the clothes we wear," she explains.

She adds that they initially tried to engage them in conversation, but they were in no mood to settle for anything less than a ban. Last Thursday, the Gujarat High Court issued notices to the Central government, the Central Board of Film Certification and Leena acting on a PIL seeking ban on the film's release. The petitioner, Masarubhai Rinabhai Rabari, had demanded the ban claiming that the film is against the sentiments of his community.

The matter will come up for hearing today (September 27).

Subhash K Jha (DNA; September 19, 2016)


The Central Board of Film Certification has not only lauded the film for its content, but also shown tremendous liberality by leaving the film’s powerful, sometimes disturbing content untouched.

Says the film’s producer Aseem Bajaj (cinematographer and the film’s director Leena’s husband), “The board has passed the film for ‘Adults Only’ with just a few cuts. We are very grateful to CBFC. They’ve shown immense empathy, sensitivity and generosity towards Parched.”

Apparently, there were two women members in the jury of the Censor Board who were moved to tears by the film. Says Aseem, “They were reluctant to cut anything except a shot of a bare breast. They said it (a breast) does not jell with the Indian audiences’ sensibility. We were okay with that. They gave us the option of removing or blurring the breast. We chose the latter option.”

The Censor Board has also objected to some abusive language. That too was willingly removed. Adds Aseem. “There were scenes showing little boys using abusive language. The board members felt it was not needed. We agreed to remove the abuses and the breast shot as they in no way affected our storytelling.”

Aseem feels the Censor Board is a much-maligned entity and says, “In my experience they are fair and just and doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.”

Parched producer says he doesn’t know who to file complaint against for Radhika Apte nude clip
MID-DAY (August 16, 2016)

"We don’t know the source of the leak," says Aseem Bajaj, producer of Parched, a day after clips of two intimate scenes featuring Radhika Apte went viral. One wondered if it is a marketing strategy to keep the critically acclaimed film in the limelight, especially since the makers have chosen to not approach the cyber crime cell yet. Bajaj, however, explains that lodging a complaint is pointless.

“The film is in public domain [Netflix] since it was released in France and a few other countries. We were contemplating legal action, but realised that we can’t do anything about it because we don’t know who to name in the complaint. But, this is definitely not a publicity gimmick. If we are getting mileage out of it, good for us. In a way it’s helping creating awareness about the film,” the producer explains.

The Censor Board has asked the makers to blur a few scenes for the India release. “We have abided by the recommendations,” adds Bajaj.

Parched has done the rounds of various film festivals and is available on Netflix, says an industry insider.

Two love-making sequences from the actress's upcoming film emerged online, taking the makers by surprise
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 15, 2016)

The Leena Yadav-directed Parched has been getting rave reviews and winning awards on the international festival circuit. But on Sunday, the dusty drama revolving around three women in a remote village in Gujarat who break free of century-old traditions which have kept them locked in servitude was making news for a different reason after two lovemaking sequences featuring Radhika Apte emerged online.

One of them showed the expanse of her bare back as she locks lips, while the other featured frontal nudity. The makers had planned to blur out the latter for the film's theatrical release in India. Them going viral come as a rude shock.

Producer Aseem Bajaj was unaware of the incident and when informed said he may approach the cyber cell of the Mumbai police to have them removed. "I don't think the leak happened in India. The film has released in the US and France and its possible someone uploaded them from there. The scenes are not sensational or titillating in any way. But in our country while rape videos are available freely, sex is still considered taboo so we had planned to blur out the breasts. Radhika plays a woman who has been beaten up all her life and is yearning for a loving touch," he informs.

The producer goes on to add that there was never any intention to objectify the actress. "She's like my sister, we did not set out to exploit her in any way. This kind of attitude stems from the way people view such scenes. I didn't see men in the US and France 'getting excited'. We haven't sent the film to the Indian censors yet but I am confident the CBFC will understand the thought behind them and agree that they are integral to the narrative. We are not ashamed of these scenes."

This isn't the first time Radhika's nude scenes have been leaked online. Last year, a clip from Anurag Kashyap's 20-minute short film made its way to the internet too. The cyber cell had registered a case against an unknown person for leaking the clip.

Anurag's film was part of an anthology which featured top directors from countries like Japan, Chile, Australia and Mexico with the recurring theme of `forbidden love.' It was meant to release only in the international market and was inspired by a true story. The sequence in question was only a few seconds long and had the actress lifting her dress to expose her lower front part. It was absolutely non-sexual and, sensitive to his actress, Anurag had filmed it with an allwomen crew.

Even during the post-production, the sequence was either sent blank or pixelated so nobody would even know who it featured. The film was delivered to New York around March 2015 and out of nowhere the video popped up online. Anurag had got in touch with then Mumbai Police Commissioner, Rakesh Maria, and the cyber crime branch took it on as top priority.

Facebook and Whatsapp were also written to and the video was eventually taken off.