Mumbai, 9th February 2026 – Ratpack Stories, part of Collective Studios and Mad Man Films have entered into a production partnership to jointly develop and produce two feature films, to be directed by Nikhil Bhat, whose cult hit Kill garnered global acclaim, and Saket Chaudhry, best known for the commercially successful Hindi Medium.
The collaboration brings together Mad Man Films, founded by producer Madhu Mantena, and Ratpack Stories, led by Kshitij Mehta, with the partnership supported by the Collective Artists Network ecosystem. Both films are currently in development and are expected to span distinct genres, with a focus on director-driven storytelling and strong theatrical appeal.
Vijay Subramaniam, Founder & Group CEO of Collective Artists Network, added, “This collaboration reflects Collective’s focus on enabling long-term creative partnerships. Bringing together Mad Man Films and Ratpack Stories allows us to support ambitious producers and filmmakers while building scalable, creator-first content ecosystems.”
Madhu Mantena, Founder of Mad Man Films, said, “Collective, under our founder Vijay’s leadership, is pushing boundaries in ways no Indian media company has before. The true scale of what he’s building will become clear in the coming years, and I’m excited to be part of that journey. After exiting Phantom last year, building a film production company from scratch again has been very intense and at times, lonely. Therefore I am very excited and happy that over the past few months, Kshitij and I have been collaborating on several films, he’s an outstanding producing partner. I’m confident this partnership will lead to some exceptional work.”
Commenting on the partnership, Kshitij Mehta, Partner at Collective Artists Network, said, “We have been collaborating creatively with Mad Man Films over the past few months, and formalising this partnership felt like a natural next step. With filmmakers like Nikhil and Saket, our shared intent is to back bold, distinctive stories that connect strongly with audiences.”
Further details on the projects, including casting and timelines, will be announced in due course.
