Dev Patel Announces Launch of Production Company; Hires 2 Indian American Industry Veterans
- The actor says his new venture will explore and develop creative voices, talent and stories and bring them to a larger audience.
Actor Dev Patel has launched a production company “to explore and develop the creative landscape of voices and talent that too often are unrecognized, bringing these stories to life in a larger way.” The “Green Knight” star also announced the expansion of his production team with the hiring of two Indian American industry veterans — Lakshmi Iyengar and Samarth Sahni.
Iyengar will serve as executive vice president, head of production and development and “will be producing and overseeing the company’s film and television development slate,” according to a report in Variety. Sahni will be the executive vice president of production and “will produce film and television projects under the company banner.”
“There are so many critical stories and visions from incredibly talented minds that need to be told but there too often is no avenue or opportunity to do so. Our passion at Minor Realm is to foster and advocate for these creatives,” Dev Patel said in a statement. “Both Lakshmi and Samarth have such strong backgrounds in developing a wide range of content and I couldn’t think of two better executives to work hand and hand with.”
Iyengar, most recently was a VP at Sony Pictures Entertainment, “where she tracked, produced and acquired films for the studio,” according to her profile on Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College website. She has worked for the Los Angeles Opera and is the co-artistic director and lead dancer for the Rangoli Dance Company. She has worked extensively behind the curtain as stage manager and production designer for most of their productions, and continues to perform and has been actively dancing for 30 years. She additionally serves on the board of the Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles.
Iyengar’s career in Acquisitions began in 2009 at Universal Pictures and continued as director of Acquisitions for Focus Features in 2016. Before joining the studio, Iyengar interned at ICM, Dan Lin Productions, John Wells Productions and volunteered for the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Additionally, she worked as the studio executive on Michael Winterbottom’s “The Wedding Guest,” starring Dev Patel and Radhika Apte.
She has a BA in Theater with a Minor in Italian from UCLA and a Master’s in Entertainment Industry Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Sahni has producing experience on films such as Patel’s “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and “Life of Pi.” He also has producing experience on “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and “The Dark Knight Rises” and is a producer on Patel’s upcoming directorial debut “Monkey Man,” which is in post-production and will be released by Netflix.
Iyengar and Sahni will be located in Los Angeles and report directly to Patel.