Excel Entertainment

Excel Entertainment is an Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in Mumbai in 1999. They mainly produce Hindi films. Their debut production, Dil Chahta Hai, received critical acclaim and was a huge rage for the youth at that time. They won National Film Awards for both Dil Chahta Hai and Rock On!!. With productions such as Don, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Fukrey, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Raees, they are known for presenting unique characters and a contemporary style of cinema. Gully Boy was also India's official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards. Excel Entertainment also ventured into distribution and distributed the Hindi dubbed versions of the 2018 Indian Kannada-language period action thriller, K.G.F: Chapter 1, and its sequel, K.G.F: Chapter 2, both starring Yash. They also distributed the 2019 Telugu epic period film, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, starring Chiranjeevi. Additionally, they ventured into streaming with India's first original series Inside Edge (2017-2021), with other such ventures including Made in Heaven (2019-2023). Coinciding with the silver jubilee anniversary of Dil Chahta Hai in 2026, the company launched the Excel Music record label, with Universal Music India owning the publishing license as distributor, besides acquiring a stake in the company. The label has since debuted with Mirzapur: The Movie, a film adaptation of the successful web series of the same name.