Dev Patel on Wednesday announced the launch of a production company titled Minor Realm and expanded his producing team with the addition of two industry veterans.
“The Green Knight” and “Slumdog Millionaire” star has a first-look deal with ShivHans Pictures, which will apply to his work with Minor Realm. And joining his team are Lakshmi Iyengar, most recently a VP at Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Samarth Sahni, who has producing experience on films such as Patel’s “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and “Life of Pi.”
Iyengar will serve as EVP, head of production and development and will be producing and overseeing the company’s film and television development slate. Sahni will be the EVP of production and will produce film and television projects under the company banner. The company’s mission is 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.
Iyengar and Sahni will be located in Los Angeles and report directly to Patel.
“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.”
“We are thrilled about the expansion of Minor Realm and the opportunity for ShivHans Pictures to continue to partner with such a creative team. Their vision perfectly complements the storytelling we look to produce and we look forward to developing and showcasing important voices and content to audiences,” Shivani Rawat, founder and CEO of ShivHans Pictures, said in a statement.
Iyengar most recently served as VP of Worldwide Acquisitions and Production at Sony Pictures Entertainment. During her time at Sony she was the creative executive on films including “The Wedding Guest” with Patel, “Late Night,” “Ammonite,” “The World to Come” and “The Broken Hearts Gallery.”
Sahni 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 postproduction and will be released by Netflix.
It was previously announced that Patel signed a first-look deal to produce, develop and create projects with the ShivHans Pictures team including Rawat and president of production Julie Goldstein. Patel and ShivHans Pictures previously collaborated on Patel’s “HoteI Mumbai.”
Patel is represented by WME, Curtis Brown and Magnolia Entertainment.