“Quality is more important than Quantity”, Nag Ashwin perfectly blends with this statement. His filmography as a director is three but his early days in the cinema industry carved him into an ideal director. Nag Ashwin was born in Nagarkurnool, Andhra Pradesh on 23 April 1986. His close association with actor and producer Rana Daggubati started during his school days since they both were classmates. He did Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication. Then, a film direction course at New York Film Academy.
He laid a strong foundation for his passion in the direction department by becoming an assistant director to Ajay Sashtry in the movie “Nenu Meeku Telusa?”. He continued his career as an assistant director with Sekhar Kammula in “Leader (2010) & Life is Beautiful (2012)”.
Movies as Director:
He made his debut movie as a director in “Yevade Subramanyam” in 2015 starring Natural Star Nani, Malvika Nair, and Vijay Devarakonda. From this movie, Vijay Devarakonda has become one of his close friends in the industry. This movie received good reviews and became a box office hit. Nag met his love Priyanka Dutt who was a producer of this film along with her elder sister Swapna Dutt.
Nag directed the biopic of late actress Savitri, who was ruling the Tamil and Telugu cinema during 1950s & 60s. Actress Keerthy Suresh who played as Savitri was honoured with a NATIONAL AWARD for best actress in the movie “Mahanati”. With the box office collection of ₹83 crore this movie became one of the highest grossing female-centric South Indian films. “Mahanati” was released in Tamil as “Nadigaiyar Thilagam” in 2018. The making, screenplay, storytelling and the details in every scene turned this movie into a masterpiece.
His directorial experience and vision peaked in his epic science fiction movie “Kalki 2898 AD” in 2024. With the Rebel star Prabhas as Bhairava and as an epic character Karna, Universal Hero Kamal Hassan, Bollywood SuperStar Amitabh Bacchan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles created more excitement and ardour among the fans from all the regions of India. The box office collection of this movie around the globe is ₹1200 crore. Nag created a Kalki Cinematic Universe, which was confirmed at the end of the movie. Though some critics were not satisfied with the VFX effects, most of the fans and reviewers appreciated and praised the whole movie team who tried to deliver the content in a high quality.
| Yevade Subramanyam | 2015 | Nani, Malvika Nair, Vijay Devarakonda |
| Mahanati | 2018 | Keerthy Suresh, Dulquer Salman, Samantha, Vijay Devarakonda |
| Kalki 2898 | 2024 | Prabhas, Kamal Hassan, Amitabh Bacchan, Keerthy Suresh, Disha Patani, Dulquer Salman, Shobhana, Pasupathi |
Private Life:
Nag Ashwin’s parents are Jayaram Reddy and Jayanthi Reddy. They both are doctors. He has a younger sibling, Nikhila, a doctor. Nag married Priyanka Dutt in 2015, who was the producer of his debut movie “Yevade Subramanyam”. She is the daughter of C.Ashwini Dutt, founder of Vyjayanthi Movies. They both are blessed with a son, Rishi. Nag never reveals his personal life much in the social media. His close friends in the cinema industry are Vijay Devarakonda, Dulquer Salman and Keerthy Suresh.
Awards:
- Nandi Awards – Best Debut Director for “Yevade Subramanyam”
- 66th Filmfare Awards South – Best Director for “Mahanati”
- Zee Cine Awards Telugu – Best Director for “Mahanati”
- Ramineni Foundation Awards – Best Director for “Mahanati”
