Producers Roundtable | Anupama Chopra | The Hollywood Reporter India | Presented By District

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.