Recently I had the great pleasure to interview writer and director Leena Yadav by phone. In our no holds barred conversation, we covered not only the challenging themes of this film, including conditioning and gender roles, patriarchy, and abuse, but also the challenges of raising money (just over 2.5 million) for this -- as Yadav stated, -- “absolutely independent” film.

Thought-provoking and honest, ‘Parched’ tackles these tough and timely topics unapologetically. The cinematography (shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter (‘Titanic’) adds another layer of both beauty and painful depth to the rich characters and desert landscape.

“I was raised to judge and treat people as human beings above and beyond their gender, religion or caste.”

--Writer/Director ‘Parched’ Leena Yadav

photo by Russell Carpenter ASC - Courtesy of W.J

‘Parched’

An evocative drama, ‘Parched’ follows the lives of three Indian women who question the ancient traditions that hold them in servitude. Set in a remote rural desert community of North West India -- widowed Rani, her vivacious best friend, Lajjo, and the exotic dancer Bijli -- talk about men, sex and life, as they struggle under the oppressive rules of their traditional village ways.

But when Rani is tasked to find a teenage bride for her entitled fifteen-year-old son, they begin to question this status quo that favors men, sends child brides to abusive husbands, and ostracizes women for being educated and opinionated. One fateful night, the women come together and take a bold step that will change the trajectory of their lives forever.

The story is set in Ujhaas, a fictional village. Yadav: “For the film, we invented a new dialect (for the villagers) that mixes Hindi with the local language, Kutchi.”

Photo courtesy of Wolfe Video