True friendship is best gauged in times of extreme adversity. Likewise, it is said that friends made in times of hardship remain made in times of hardship remain together always. This is the very idea around which debutant director Atul Taishete's Vartak Nagar, featuring Jimmy Sheirgill and Raghu Ram, revolves.

Jointly produced by Adarsh Telemedia, Dione Entertainment and Kunal Kohli Productions, the movie also explores how a seemingly small event snowballed into the longest running strike in the history of Mumbai that eventually saw textile mills giving way to swanky malls two decades later.

Says Atul, “The movie attempts to recreate the Bombay of 80s. It also simultaneously captures a beautiful, almost poetic drama of a coming-of-age friendship between the principal characters.“ Producer Amit Agarwal was so taken in by the narration that he decided to back it. He says, “It is a multi-layered story of four teenage friends, Gajya, Satya, Raju and Savio. It takes us through the fun-filled nostalgic journey of their glorious school days, their eccentric teachers and innocent pranks. It is one of those films which has the potential to be a commercial hit, garner critical acclaim and also perform well internationally.“