What did puppy love have to do with the crime-infested world of Guns & Gulaabs? A lot, as the audience witnessed in the show. Writer Suman Kumar admits creator duo Raj-DK’s series—starring Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan and Adarsh Gourav—has its roots in teenage romance. “Raj and I felt we needed to tell a feel-good [story]. He had a premise in mind: there is a small-town 14-year-old boy, who is a topper, until a city girl comes and replaces him. I told Raj-DK that we needed more. While researching, I came across opium smuggling, and thought it would be fun if this world collided with that of adolescence,” recalls Kumar.

Suman Kumar; Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK