Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (born 15 October 1979) is an Indian film director and writer. After working in advertising for several years, she made her debut by directing the comedy-drama ''

Nil Battey Sannata ''Nil Battey Sannata'' (; slang for "Good for Nothing"), released internationally as ''The New Classmate'', is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Ajay ...

'' (2016). The film garnered great reviews and Tiwari went on to direct its Tamil remake entitled . She had previously served as the Executive Creative Director at

Leo Burnett Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cen ...

before she moved on to pursue a filmmaking career. Tiwari won the

Filmfare Award for Best Director The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in Hindi cinema. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year. Superlatives Bimal Roy has the re ...

for the romantic comedy-drama '' Bareilly Ki Barfi'' (2017).

Early life and background

Ashwiny Iyer was born on 15 October 1979 in a Tamil speaking family and grew up in the suburb of Mulund, Mumbai. She studied at St. Mary's Convent High School, Mulund and did her higher studies from SIES College of Commerce and Economics. She is married to writer-director Nitesh Tiwari.

Career

Advertising

A gold medalist in commercial arts from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai, Ashwiny spent 15 years in the advertising agency Leo Burnett (India). She won several awards like Cannes Lions, New York festival, One show, Promax and the Goafest Awards. She quit Leo Burnett to follow her passion in filmmaking.

Films

Work on short films and directorial debut (2012-2016)

Iyer made her first short film ''What's for Breakfast'' in 2012. In 2016, she made her feature film directorial debut with the comedy-drama ''

'' starring Swara Bhasker in the lead role. The film was produced by Colour Yellow Productions ( Aanand L Rai) in association with JAR Pictures and Opticus Inc. and presented by

Eros International Eros International Media Ltd. (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjan Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distribu ...

. Its story was inspired by a contestant from the

quiz show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating whe ...

Kaun Banega Crorepati ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (simply ''KBC''; English: ''Who Will Become a Crorepati'') is an Indian Hindi-language television game show. It is the official Hindi adaptation of the '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' franchise. It is presented ...

'' hosted by

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

which inspired many Indian viewers. Released under the title of ''The New Classmate'' internationally, ''Nil Battey Sannata'' received positive reviews upon release, with praise for Tiwari's direction and sensitive handling of the subject matter. The film emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. It earned Iyer the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director. She remade the film in Tamil as ''

Amma Kanakku () is a 2016 Indian Tamil language comedy drama film written and directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and produced by both Anand L. Rai and Dhanush. A remake of the director's Hindi film ''Nil Battey Sannata'' (2015), the film stars Amala Paul, R ...

'' with Amala Paul in the lead role, which released on 24 June in the same year.

Success (2017-present)

Iyer achieved her breakthrough with the romantic comedy-drama '' Bareilly Ki Barfi'' (2017) starring

Kriti Sanon Kriti Sanon (born 27 July 1990) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. She has received a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards, and was featured in ''Forbes India'' Forbes Celebrity 100, Celebrity 100 list of 2019. Af ...

Ayushmann Khurrana Ayushmann Khurrana (born Nishant Khurrana; 14 September 1984) is an Indian actor and singer who works in Hindi films. Known for his portrayals of ordinary men often battling social norms, he is the recipient of several awards, including a Na ...

and Rajkummar Rao in lead roles. Based on Nicolas Barreau's novel ''The Ingredients of Love'', the film received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with high praise for its direction, screenplay, dialogue, soundtrack, setting and the performances of the cast. Devesh Sharma praised the film in his four stars out of five review for ''

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

''; he praised Tiwari for her versatility and wrote that the film, "will give you ample laughs throughout and you’ll walk away from the theatre with a satisfied smile on your face." It emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, grossing over ₹60 crore (US$7.5 million) worldwide. ''Bareilly Ki Barfi'' earned Iyer the

. In 2018, Iyer teamed up with

Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1986) is an Indian actress, filmmaker, and politician serving as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, Mandi since June 2024. Known for her portrayals of strong-willed, u ...

Neena Gupta Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television along with few Malayalam films. She has received several awards including three National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and two ...

, Richa Chadda and Jassie Gill to make '' Panga'', a film about a new-age family that challenges stereotypes. The film released on 24 January 2020 and was critically acclaimed. It was the tenth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. She signed a two-film deal with

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television and film producer, known for her work in Hindi television and Bollywood cinema. She is the founder of Balaji Telefilms, Balaji Telefilms Limited, where she serves as joint managing directo ...

Balaji Motion Pictures Balaji Motion Pictures is an Indian film production and distribution company, subsidiary company of Balaji Telefilms Limited, established by Shobha Kapoor and her daughter Ekta Kapoor. Located in Mumbai, it produces and distributes Hindi ...

from which one she will direct and another she will produce along with Ekta. She turned author with her debut fiction novel, titled ''Mapping Love'' which released on 1 August 2021 to glowing reviews. Iyer is the co-founder of the production house, Earthsky Pictures, under which she has produced Break Point, a docu-series based on Tennis legends,

Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player and the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-tim ...

and

Mahesh Bhupathi Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974) is an Indian former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a major tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the 2006 Australian Open mixed doubles, he ...

, and several ad films. She is also directing the life story of Mr. Narayan Murthy and Mrs. Sudha Murthy.

Filmography

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiwari, Ashwiny Iyer 1979 births Living people 21st-century Indian people Film directors from Mumbai Women writers from Maharashtra Hindi-language film directors Tamil-language film directors Indian women screenwriters Indian women film directors Screenwriters from Mumbai Filmfare Awards winners Zee Cine Awards winners