Kamal Ghorui
Rachel McAdams stranded on an island with Dylan O’Brien could serve as the plot for another epic romance, but in the hands of director Sam Raimi, it becomes something far more sinister. That’s the ‘delicious twist’ that ‘Send Help’ producer Zainab Azizi couldn’t resist. In an exclusive chat with ETimes, Azizi opens up about casting “America’s sweetheart” in her darkest role yet and betting on this survival story powered by rage, horror and gore.While she was at it, she also got candid about growing up on a healthy dose of Hindi cinema. No stranger to the Desi flare, she also shared her admiration for Bollywood icons like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai, and her desire to produce a potential Hollywood–Bollywood crossover with close friend Preity Zinta. Excerpts: ‘Send Help’ sees Rachel McAdams, a classic rom-com actress, in a very different light. What made you want to pick her to lead this story? Zainab: So, first off, I am a huge fan of Rachel McAdams. She is, one of the best actresses in Hollywood, and when we were developing the character of Linda Liddle, we wanted someone who was America’s sweetheart, someone who was so sweet and endearing and kind and someone you would just fall in love with. And Rachel has all of those qualities. What was so exciting to cast her was that we’ve never seen her do a dark role like this before and that was just such a delicious idea to have her as Linda Little. And Sam and Rachel worked together before on ‘Doctor Strange’, so it was a wonderful reunion for them.
