Mumbai: One of Hindi Cinemas youngest producers, Ritesh Sidhwani and friend Farhan Akhtar make up Excel Entertainment.

According to Ritesh, the role of a producer has changed with the times. "Thankfully, he is given credit these days. Earlier it was only the director who got his due."

So, what's the difference between them? "A producer needs to know the demands of a script. A director might say that a particular script would need a certain budget. However, a producer must be able to judge in which bracket the script fits. For instance, Don could not be a small-budget film."

Like all other actors, directors and producers, the fact that people could watch his film on pirated DVDs even before its released pains Ritesh. "That's a dampener. We should fight piracy. In the South, piracy is nil because the fans watch films only on the big screen."

As producers Ritesh and Farhan make sure they get bulk dates from their stars, thus insuring the smooth flow of the feel and appearance of the film. "We don't mind waiting for the dates. It's better than starting a movie and waiting endlessly in between. This affects the tempo of the film." Whereas, filming more than one film at a time, or having gaps between shoots for a film can mean continuity problems, say if the actor has changed in appearance, a location is no longer available or if one script requires a certain look and another requires something quite different. Such as Shah Rukh Khans most recent films, KANK and Don, or Aishwarya Rai's Guru and Dhoom 2. Neither of these actors could have shot their films simultaneously.

Speaking of SRK, Ritesh says working with Shah Rukh Khan was a revelation, "Working with SRK was an unbelievable experience. Now I understand why Karan writes films with roles etched out for him." He continues, "SRK is an amazingly nice person. He'd come on the sets and hug everybody — from the spot boy to the director. At the end of the schedule, he bought presents for everyone. He had learnt so much about each individual that everyone was gifted what he or she wanted! That's why SRK is where he is today. He is addictive. We would love to do another film with him."

Apart from Don, Excel Entertainment is also producing Honeymoon Pvt. Ltd., and an as yet untitled film starring Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor.