Producer of Jawan and Darlings and former head of Red Chillies Entertainment, Gaurav Verma is stepping out of the studio system with the new buddy comedy Prem Keetanu, his first production under his own banner. Rather than lean on a familiar face or a pre-sold star vehicle, Verma has backed a young, small-town story about boys who come to a big city chasing education, ambition and a life of their own. “It’s a story of boys who have come from a small town to a big town for education, trying to find something in their lives. Most of us have hustled through that and lived that life, so you find it nostalgic and relatable. And secondly, the world is the same. The world is hustling even at today’s rate,” he says.

Verma, who has spent years operating within the studio ecosystem insists that while the banner may have changed, the fundamental responsibility of a producer has not. “The difference has been to have a banner of your own. Whether you are a dependent producer or you’re independent, the responsibility and accountability pretty much stays the same. When you’re independent, you go through your round of checks, how to probably go about the film and how do you want to position the film. It’s not the brand which will position the film, it is the film that will position itself.”