Singireddy Nag Ashwin Reddy (born 23 April 1986), popularly known as Nag Ashwin, is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

. He is the recipient of a

National Film Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

, a

Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic s ...

, and a

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

. A graduate of the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

, Ashwin began his career as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

to Sekhar Kammula. He made his directorial debut in 2015 with the

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

film '' Yevade Subramanyam'', which earned him the Nandi Award for Best Debut Director. He gained widespread acclaim for directing ''

Mahanati ''Mahanati'' () is a 2018 Indian Telugu cinema, Telugu-language biographical film, biographical drama (film and television), drama film based on the life of actress Savitri (actress), Savitri. It is written and directed by Nag Ashwin, and prod ...

'' (2018), a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

of actress Savitri, which became the highest-grossing female-led South Indian film and won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu. In 2024, Ashwin ventured into big-budget cinema with the science fiction film ''

Kalki 2898 AD ''Kalki 2898 AD'' () is a 2024 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Epic film, epic Mythological film, mythological Science fiction film, science-fiction film co-written and directed by Nag Ashwin. Produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, it features ...

''.

Early life

Nag Ashwin was born on 23 April 1986 in a Telugu family to Jayaram and Jayanthi Reddy, who are both doctors. He has a younger sister, Nikhila, who is also a doctor. Ashwin's mother hails from

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

and runs J. J. Hospital, along with his father, in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Ashwin studied in The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, Hyderabad. He was classmates and friends with

Rana Daggubati Ramanaidu Daggubati, (; born 14 December 1984) known professionally as Rana Daggubati, is an Indian actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil and Hindi cinema, Hindi films. H ...

since class one. He got his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Mass Communication from Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He then did a film direction course at the

Career

Nag Ashwin began his career in the film industry as an assistant director, working on the 2008 film '' Nenu Meeku Telusa?''. He later worked as

to Sekhar Kammula in ''Leader'' (2010) and ''Life Is Beautiful'' (2012) and acted in minor roles in all three films. Ashwin made his directorial debut with '' Yevade Subramanyam'' (2015), a film backed by

Vyjayanthi Movies Vyjayanthi Movies is an Indian Production company, film production company founded in 1974 by C. Aswani Dutt, C. Aswini Dutt. One of the leading production houses in Telugu cinema, it is known for its large-scale productions featuring high produ ...

. The plot centers around Subramanyam (played by Nani), a corporate professional who embarks on a journey of self-discovery. The film also stars Malvika Nair, Vijay Deverakonda, and Ritu Varma. It was notable for its extensive filming at Everest Base Camps in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, making it the first Indian film to be shot at that location. Released on 21 March 2015, ''Yevade Subramanyam'' received mostly positive reviews. Critics praised Nani's performance and the film's message-oriented script but criticized the slow-paced narration. The film was commercially successful. In May 2016, Nag Ashwin announced his next film would be a

of the Indian actress Savitri, titled ''

''. He spent six months researching her life, reading articles and books, and interviewing journalists and actors who knew her. Backed by Vyjayanthi Movies,

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began in May 2017 and concluded by March 2018. ''Mahanati'' was released on 9 May 2018 to critical and commercial acclaim, winning several awards. It was showcased in the Indian Panorama Mainstream section at the 49th International Film Festival of India and received the "Equality in Cinema Award" at the 2018 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. At the 66th National Film Awards, it won Best Feature Film in Telugu, among other accolades. Nag Ashwin received the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu at the

66th Filmfare Awards South The 66th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema in 2018 is an event that was held on 21 December 2019 in Chennai. The nominations for all the main awards were announced on 13 December ...

. In February 2020, Ashwin announced a

science fiction action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

to mark the 50th anniversary of Vyjayanthi Movies. Prabhas was announced as the lead actor, with the

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

''Project K''. However, production was delayed by a year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Filming began in July 2021 at Ramoji Film City, in

, on a 600 crore budget, making it the most expensive Indian film to date. The cast includes

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone (; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone, her accolades include thre ...

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 ...

and

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

. The film, later titled ''Kalki 2898 AD'', was the first Indian film presented at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

's Hall H on 20 July 2023. Released worldwide on 27 June 2024, the film received positive reviews from critics and audiences. ''Collider'' praised the film as a "unique sci-fi epic" with strong performances by Prabhas and Bachchan and an impressive screenplay by Ashwin. ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' called it "terrific, cathartic fun" and anticipated more editions in the "Kalki Cinematic Universe," applauding Ashwin's work.

Personal life

In December 2015, Nag Ashwin married Priyanka Dutt, the second daughter of producer C. Aswani Dutt of

. The couple has a son, Rishi.

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashwin, Nag Film directors from Hyderabad, India Filmfare Awards South winners Indian male screenwriters Living people New York Film Academy alumni Screenwriters from Hyderabad, India Telugu film directors Nandi Award winners Zee Cine Awards Telugu winners Telugu screenwriters Male actors in Telugu cinema Telugu male actors 21st-century Indian screenwriters 21st-century Indian male actors Action film directors Indian science fiction film directors Indian fantasy film directors Male actors from Hyderabad, India Telugu film producers Indian film producers Film producers from Hyderabad, India 1986 births