The Russo brothers and Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Indian production house Excel Entertainment (“Gully Boy,” “Made in Heaven”) are exploring a partnership.
Joe and Anthony Russo attended the Mumbai premiere and press meeting for Netflix film “The Gray Man,”Following that, they met with Sidhwani and Akhtar. They also discussed the possibility for “The Gray Man,” in which India’s Dhanush is one of the stars, becoming a franchise and about working with Indian talent.
The wide ranging discussion between the Russo brothers and Akhtar and Sidhwani covered the theatrical experience and the importance of event films and VFX in today’s market scenario; screen count in India versus the rest of the world, and its importance; the globalization of cinema, with language not being a barrier, and storytelling across cultures; working with Indian talent and the possibility of producing a film with an Indian director; and about work culture — production, prep and filming processes in the West compared to India.
“We love what the two gentlemen [Akhtar and Sidhwani] have been doing with content in India, they have a brilliant knack for telling disruptive stories,”Anthony Russo spoke to the Indian media. “Although such things take time to materialize, we are definitely talking with them with regards to developing something. At this moment, I can only say that it’s an exchange of ideas at this stage.”
Excel was established in 2001 by a landmark film. “Dil Chahta Hai”Since then, it has been a production powerhouse. Sidhwani directs and Akhtar also produces. Akhtar is also a director, writer, composer, actor, and performer. The company has a long-term partnership with Netflix and an existing relationship to Amazon Prime Video.
Akhtar’s next film as director is “Jee Le Zara,”Starring Bollywood A-listers Priyanka Jonas, Katrina Kaif, and Alia Bhatti. Akhtar is currently an actor and can be seen in “Ms. Marvel.”