In this edition of The Hollywood Reporter India’s Producers Roundtable, Anupama Chopra sits down with four powerhouse producers who have shaped some of the year’s most talked-about films. Dulquer Salmaan, the Malayalam actor-producer behind the blockbuster Lokah, Vikramaditya Motwane, the visionary director-producer of Sacred Games and Black Warrant, Rana Daggubati, the Telugu actor-producer driving Spirit Media’s ambitious slate, and Archana Kalpathi, the Tamil producer whose AGS Entertainment delivered both the 300-crore GOAT and the breakout hit Dragon, come together for an unfiltered conversation about the state of Indian cinema. From the highs of 2025 potentially becoming the highest-grossing year ever to the struggles of indie filmmakers finding screens, the panel doesn’t hold back.
The conversation spans everything from how stories find their way to these producers—Archana reveals she personally reads every WhatsApp pitch—to the challenges of streaming’s pullback, entourage costs spiralling out of control, and the lack of structured support for writers. Dulquer shares how shooting in Hindi made him realise perception matters more than talent on certain sets, while Vikramaditya laments the confusion plaguing Bollywood about its audience. Rana speaks passionately about building ecosystems for indie cinema and his optimism about AI, and Archana breaks down the simple math that every creator should understand: for every crore spent, you need two-and-a-half crores at the box office. It’s a masterclass in the business, art, and madness of making movies in India today.
Presented by: District By Zomato
Hydration Partner: Vedica Himalayan Spring Water
00:00 Opening
00:29 Introduction to the Producers Roundtable
02:15 2025 as India’s highest grossing cinema year
03:10 State of the industry – Regional perspectives
05:32 Hindi film industry’s confusion and lack of clarity
07:40 Footfalls vs ticket prices – The real measure
09:45 AGS Entertainment’s approach to storytelling
13:39 “Nobody knows anything” – Unpredictability of success
16:34 Streaming environment challenges and churn
19:03 Impact of OTT pullback on regional industries
23:13 Making Kaantha – Staying in love with material for years
26:34 How stories reach producers
34:24 Empowering writers and the showrunner model
42:13 “Terror of getting it wrong” – Fear after every hit
48:12 Last films that rekindled love for theaters
52:02 Work hours and lifestyle in cinema production
59:04 Pre-production discipline and financial planning
1:05:59 Entourage costs – Hindi vs South industries
1:15:05 Ajith Kumar’s simplicity on set
1:19:50 State of independent cinema in India
1:28:45 AI in filmmaking – Excitement vs concerns
1:37:44 Hopes for 2026
1:42:17 Closing remarks
#HollywoodReporterIndia #ProducersRoundtable #IndianCinema
Archana❤
Compared to actor’s roundtable, this was a bit boring. Needed 3 more people to bring more perspective and depth on finance part and impact of OTTs.
DQ❤
I’m making biriyani as I watch this. I hear coughs in between and I’m apologizing because of the smoke from frying onions during their talk. 🤣
Youre crazy lol😂
why no hombale?
Rana and DQ❤
You definitely need to get hombale production to know what it is they are doing right every year?
karan johar not being here is weird. not that i am a fan but its anupama’s round table. karan barely misses the spot
Bring Deepika and ask about entourage cost 🙃.
One of the most informative podcasts on the trends around the commercial side of filmmaking. One recommendation – Next time, if you can include somebody from the streamers and corporate studio side as well, responding to some of the thoughts from the producers, it would be interesting to hear.