Directing Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley

Nithya Ramani in Mumbai

Casting Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in your very first film, and Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley in your second is no mean feat.

But that is what editor-turned-director Leena Yadav [inset] achieved in her short directorial career.

Though her first film Shabd bombed at the box office, Leena is hopeful that her second film Teen Patti -- starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sir Ben Kingsley, R Madhavan, Saira Mohan, Raima Sen and four newcomers, Gaurav Ganesh, Shraddha Kapoor, Siddharth Kher and Vaibhav Talwar -- will do better.

The director talks to Nithya Ramani about her four year hiatus and Teen Patti, which releases February 26.

What have you been doing for the past four years, post Shabd's debacle?

Recovering from it and writing scripts for my next! It took me two years to write Teen Patti. I co-wrote it with Shivkumar Subramaniam.

These four years have helped me grow. I have changed, learnt and absorbed a lot. I have been lucky to be able to make a film the way I wanted.

Do you think the industry is indifferent to outsiders, to people who don't come from a filmi background?

No. If you are dying to tell a story, there is always someone to listen to you. There is always someone out there to help you.

Image: A scene from Teen Patti