Ever since their first big break, the duo have been very focused on exploring various genres and nurturing newer directors. In the tenth year of their partnership, they are all geared up about their upcoming venture Karthik Calling Karthik. “It is a thriller but the thrust of the film is the love story between Deepika Padukone and me,” says Akhtar, 36. “When I started off, I was fortunate to get support from the right people. I had met Aamir Khan twice socially before he agreed to do my movie. Now that we have established goodwill , we want to give back the same to newer directors. At no point do I want audiences to say that ours is a sub-standard product.”

Akhtar and Sidhwani may top the power list of producers in the industry but their friendship dates back to their childhood. “We have been friends since nursery, but we were in different divisions and houses. I was in a superior house,” laughs Akhtar. “That’s what all of us like to believe,” Sidhwani quips, adding, “After graduation, we met socially and one day Farhan narrated his script to me.”

For Sidhwani, 39, films were a completely new game. “Before we started shooting for DCH, we visited Aamir on the sets of Lagaan. That was my first experience of a film shoot,” he says with childlike enthusiasm.

The camaraderie between the two is evident but is there never a clash of interests? “Ritesh has a note on his table that says: Be Sensible. Do it my way,” laughs Akhtar. Akhtar is loquacious; Sidhwani keeps it to the point and this has helped build a formidable partnership to produce films like Lakshya, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd and Luck By Chance.

With Akhtar’s plate full with directing, acting and anchoring, Sidhwani is busy running production errands. “We have spaced ourselves really well. Excel does not believe in churning multiple movies at one time. Now that Farhan is acting in some and directing other projects, we see that they do not overlap. We have Zoya Akhtar’s film, Abhinay Deo’s Crooked and Farhan’s Don 2 this year. Reema Kagti and Abhishek Kapoor will have to wait till next year.”