Obsession star Inde Navarrette worked with an Indian director years before her breakout role

3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jun 6, 2026 02:03 PM IST

Inde Navarrette has earned widespread acclaim for her performance in Obsession.

As the American psychological horror film Obsession continues to dominate online conversations, its lead actor Inde Navarrette has emerged as one of the film’s biggest talking points. Her performance has drawn widespread acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Amid the film’s success, independent filmmaker Shubham Sanjay Shevade recently took a trip down memory lane, revealing that years before Navarrette became the face of Obsession, he had directed her in his short film Cross Words Together.

Sharing behind-the-scenes photographs from the project on Instagram, Shevade reflected on their collaboration and wrote, “8 years ago, I directed a short film – Cross Words Together and had the privilege of working with @indenavarrette Looking back at these BTS photos today, it’s amazing to see how far she’s come. Long before the world started obsessing over her performance in Obsession (@obsessionthemovie), I was fortunate enough to witness her talent first-hand while directing her in a romantic short film… So happy to see her getting the recognition she deserves. Proud to have been a small part of her journey. Congratulations, Inde!”

Shevade also spoke to IFP World about his experience working with Navarrette during the making of the film. “It happened during my thesis film back in 2018, Cross Words Together, in Los Angeles, which was a SAG-approved project. At the time, Inde (Obsession) needed one more qualifying project to become SAG eligible, and she auditioned for one of the lead roles. Our film explored different perspectives on love through three women at different stages of life: a teenage girl, a pregnant married woman, and an elderly woman. Inde played the teenager, a young girl still trying to understand what love actually means. The role required a certain innocence and emotional honesty, and that’s something she brought naturally to the screen.”

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Reflecting further on her growth as an actor, he added, “Looking back, it reminds me how versatile she is as an actor. In Cross Words, she brought a sense of innocence and curiosity to the character. That’s the mark of a versatile performer. I’m proud that our film was a small part of her journey, and it’s wonderful to see her continue to grow and connect with audiences around the world.”

About Obsession

Written, directed and edited by Curry Barker, Obsession is a supernatural psychological horror film that follows Bear, a music store employee portrayed by Michael Johnston. So far, the film has earned over $171 million while it was made in less than $1 million.