Nag Ashwin Reddy is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He is best known for directing the highly-acclaimed biographical drama, Mahanati (2018). His next venture, Kalki 2898 AD, an epic science-fiction film starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone, has had a mixed reception upon release but emerged as a major commerical success.
Nag Ashwin
Nag Ashwin

Early Life

Nag Ashwin was born on April 23, 1986, in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. His parents, Jayaram and Jayanthi Reddy, are doctors; he has a younger sister, Nikhila Reddy, also a doctor. He did his schooling at Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, before graduating with a degree in mass communication from Manipal Institute of Communication (MIC), Manipal, Karnataka. He went on to complete a film direction course at the New York Film Academy before venturing into the film industry.

Career

Nag Ashwin began his career as an assistant director in Nenu Meeku Telusa (2008), a psychological thriller film starring Manchu Manoj. He went on to assist Shekhar Kammula in the films, Leader (2010) and Life Is Beautiful (2012); he also played a minor role in the latter. He made his directorial debut with Yevade Subramaniam (2015), a coming-of-age drama film starring Nani, Vijay Devarakonda, and Malavika Nair. Despite the mixed reception, the film was a sleeper hit at the box office and, over the years, gained cult following.

His next venture, Mahanati (2018), was a biographical drama film based on the life of Savitri. Starring Keerthy Suresh, Dulquer Salmaan, Samantha, and Vijay Devarakonda, the film was released on May 9, 2018 to rave reviews from critics who lavished praise on the performances, screenplay, direction, music, costumes, cinematography, and production design. The film performed exceptionally well, particularly in multiplexes, and went on to become the highest-grossing female-centric South Indian film. In addition to the commercial success, the film won umpteen awards at various levels, most notably Best Actress (Keerthy Suresh), Best Feature Film in Telugu (Priyanka Dutt), and Best Costume Design (Indrakshi Pattanaik, Gaurang Shah, and Archana Rao) at the 66th National Film Awards. The film is considered the best biopic from India and a masterpiece in terms of performances and technical standards.

His next directorial, Kalki 2898 AD, is an epic science fiction film bankrolled by Ashwini Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies. The film features an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachan, Kamal Hassan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, and Disha Patani. Made on a massive budget of 600 crore, the film is the most expensive Indian film to date. Upon release, it received mixed-to-positive response from critics who praised the cat performances, visual effects but criticised the writing. In addition to feature films, he directed xLife, a segment in the Netflix anthology film Pitta Kathalu (2021).

Film Production

His first project as a producer was Jaathi Ratnalu (2021), a comedy-drama film starring Naveen Polishetty, Rahul Ramakrishna, Priyadarshi, and Fariah Abdullah. It narrates the story of three happy-go-lucky men who arrive in the city looking for a better life but land up in jail, following a series of unfortunate events. Produced under the banner Swapna Cinema, a subsidiary of Vyjayanthi Films, the film is particularly noted for its one-liners and went on to become a huge commercial success.

Personal Life

Nag Ashwin married Priyanka Dutt, daughter of Ashwini Dutt, whom he had met during the production of Yevade Subramaniam (2015). The couple was blessed with a baby boy in January 2017.