Meet Nag Ashwin, Director Of Prabhas Starrer Blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD

Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Deepika Padukone, is enjoying its run at the box office. The sci-fi thriller is helmed by Nag Ashwin, who has given several big hits and memorable movies to the Telugu cinema. The director has only directed four movies since 2015 but all left a great impact in Indian cinema. However, still not many know about the director or his journey to the top.

Meet the man behind the success of Kalki 2898 AD

Nag Ashwin had to struggle before making his big debut as a director with the 2015 movie Yevade Subramanyam. Like many South cinema stars, Nag Ashwin doesn't belong to any celeb family instead he is an outsider, whose parents are doctors. He started his journey in the Telugu cinema in 2008 working as an assistant director. He worked for filmmaker Sekhar Kammula in two movies - Leader (2010) and Life Is Beautiful (2012). However, he decided to be a director and with the help of C. Aswani Dutt's daughters Priyanka Dutt and Swapna Dutt.

While Nag Ashwin helmed the movie, the Dutt sisters produced it. The movie starred Nani and Malavika Nair and turned out to be a sleeper hit and gained a cult following post-release.

In a recent post on Instagram, Nag Ashwin reflected on his initial days when he was struggling to make his name. He penned a long note stating that around 10 years ago, he along with his wife Priyanka and his sister-in-law Swapna began their debut feature movie together. They took some risks. "Vyjayanti was at a low and this film was a risky one...I remember a day of shoot with 20 extras and it rained...we couldn't finish and meant we had to come back and setup again...that extra cost was unaccounted for and made us break down and panic," he wrote. However, now he is happy seeing how his career turned out.

Nag Ashwin's groundbreaking movie which put him on the map

Yevade Subramanyam might have earned a few points to Nag Ashwin, but it was Mahanti, a biopic of the Indian actress Savitri that put him on the map across Indian cinema. Starring Kreethy Shetty and Dulquer Salmaan, the movie was announced in 2016 and released two years later in 2018. The movie garnered both critical and commercial acclaim and went on to win several awards. The movie went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.

About Nag Ashwin personal life

The director is the husband of Priyanka Dutt, the second daughter of producer  C. Aswani Dutt of Vyjayanthi Movies. Together, they have a son.

What's next for Nag Ashwin?

The director is now working on the remaining two parts of Kalki 2898 AD which will release after a few years.