Chalasani Aswini Dutt (also spelled Aswani Dutt; born 15 September 1950) is an Indian film producer known for his work in the Telugu cinema.[1][2] He established the film production company Vyjayanthi Movies in 1974, one of the biggest production houses in the Telugu film industry. In a career spanning nearly five decades, he has produced over 40 films with a majority of them in Telugu and a few in Hindi and Tamil languages.[3][4][5] He is known for producing big-budget films that have lavish production values.[6]
C. Aswini Dutt | |
|---|---|
 Dutt in 2023 | |
| Born | Chalasani Aswani Dutt 15 September 1950 Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Organization | Vyjayanthi Movies |
| Political party | Telugu Desam Party |
| Spouse | Vinaya Kumari |
| Children | 3 including Swapna Dutt, Priyanka Dutt |
| Awards | National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu - Mahanati (2018) |
He also contested for the Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency in the year 2004 General Elections as a Telugu Desam Party candidate.
Early and personal life
editAswini Dutt was born into a well-to-do family in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. His father was a contractor and the sole distributor for Kalinga Pipes in the state for many years. He completed his graduation.[7] Jandhyala, who would later go on to become a noted film director and screenwriter, was Aswini Dutt's childhood friend. They were classmates from fourth standard till their graduation and lived in neighbouring houses.[8][9]
He has three daughters — Priyanka Dutt, Swapna Dutt and Sravanthi Dutt.[6] Priyanka is married to film director Nag Ashwin who previously directed the film Yevade Subramanyam (2015).[10]
Film career
editDutt started his film career as an executive producer for the black-and-white film O Seetha Katha (1974) directed by K. Viswanath.[7][11] He wanted to produce a film with his favourite actor N. T. Rama Rao (NTR) and approached him.[12] Named by NTR after the garland which is in Lord Krishna’s neck, Vyjayanthi Movies commenced production, under the proprietorship of Aswini Dutt.[13][11] The logo of the production house contains the image of NTR as Lord Sri Krishna, with a Sankha in his hand and Earth behind him.[13][14] The first film produced under Vyjayanthi Movies banner was Eduruleni Manishi (1975) starring NTR and Vanisri.[11]
The production house went on to make films with the biggest stars of Telugu cinema: NTR, ANR, Krishna, Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju, Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan, Jr. NTR, Prabhas. They also worked with Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Dulquer Salman.[5][15][16] Many of the films produced by Vyjayanthi Movies were directed by K. Bapayya and K. Raghavendra Rao.
Vyjayanthi Movies also has subsidiary banners — Three Angels Studio, Swapna Cinema run by Aswini Dutt's daughters Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt. Of late, his daughters take care of the production part of the films produced by their production house, while the music is handled Aswini Dutt.[17]
Vyjayanthi Movies had a successful run until it hit a rough patch with Sakthi in 2011. After this, Aswini Dutt took a seven-year hiatus. He produced Mahanati in 2018 which became one of the highest-grossing films of the year.[6]
Dutt mentions Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari (1990) as his most favourite among all the films that he produced.[11]
Shelved projects
editAfter the success of Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari (1990), Dutt wanted to do fantasy film highlighting the CGI. So a film titled Bhooloka Veerudu was started in the direction of Singeetam Srinivasa Rao with Chiranjeevi in the lead role. After completing two schedules, they realized that they didn't have a proper story in hand and hence shelved the film.[7]
Ram Gopal Varma narrated a story to Ashwini Dutt which he liked. Varma was making Daud at that time and felt that the shooting of Daud might be stalled due to Sanjay Dutt's legal issues. So Varma narrated the story to Ashwini Dutt and Chiranjeevi which they liked.[7] Ashwini Dutt started the project with Chiranjeevi as the lead in the direction of Ram Gopal Varma.[18] After Sanjay Dutt's release, the shooting of Daud resumed. Then Aswini Dutt realized that the storylines for these two films are similar. As he was not comfortable in doing a film which had the same storyline to another film, he stalled the project.[7]
Filmography
editFilms produced under Vyjayanti Movies banner.
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Eduruleni Manishi | Debut in Telugu cinema |
| 1978 | Yuga Purushudu | |
| 1981 | Guru Sishyulu | |
| 1983 | Adavi Simhalu | |
| 1985 | Agni Parvatam | |
| 1986 | Brahma Rudrulu | |
| 1988 | Aakhari Poratam | |
| 1990 | Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari | |
| 1992 | Aswamedham | |
| 1994 | Govinda Govinda | |
| Subhalagnam | ||
| 1998 | Choodalani Vundi | |
| 1999 | Rajakumarudu | |
| Ravoyi Chandamama | ||
| 2000 | Azad | |
| 2001 | Premakke Sai | Debut in Kannada cinema |
| 2002 | Company | Debut in Hindi cinema |
| Indra | ||
| 2005 | Balu ABCDEFG | |
| Subhash Chandra Bose | ||
| Jai Chiranjeeva | ||
| 2006 | Sainikudu | |
| 2007 | Chirutha | |
| 2008 | Kathanayakudu | Made simultaneously with Kuselan |
| Kantri | ||
| 2011 | Shakthi | |
| 2018 | Mahanati | |
| Devadas | ||
| 2019 | Maharshi | |
| 2022 | Sita Ramam | |
| 2024 | Kalki 2898 AD |
Swapna Cinema
| Release Year | Film Name |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Student No.1 |
| 2002 | Okato Number Kurraadu |
| 2015 | Yevade Subramanyam |
| 2018 | Mahanati |
| 2021 | Jathi Ratnalu |
| 2022 | Sita Ramam |
| 2023 | Anni Manchi Sakunamule |
Raghavendra Movie Corporation and United Producers (Aswani Dutt, Allu Aravind, and K. Raghavendra Rao)[7]
| Release Year | Film Name |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Pelli Sandadi |
| 1997 | Mere Sapno Ki Rani (Hindi) |
| 1998 | Paradesi |
| Ninaithen Vandhai (Tamil) | |
| 2003 | Gangotri |
Siri Media Arts (Aswani Dutt and Allu Aravind)
| Release Year | Film Name |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Pellam Oorelithe |
| Calcutta Mail (Hindi) | |
| 2004 | Intlo Srimathi Veedhilo Kumari |
Sri Priyanka Pictures
| Release Year | Film Name |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Subhalagnam |
Roja Art Productions
| Release Year | Film Name |
|---|---|
| 1983 | Jaani Dost (Hindi) |
References
edit- ^ Jonnalagedda, Pranita (19 December 2016). "Dil Raju, Ashwini Dutt for Mahesh Babu". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Director Vamshi Paidipally lands in soup for Mahesh Babu's next". The Indian Express. 30 December 2016. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Aswini Dutt - Producer of Vyjayanthi banner - Interview by Jeevi". Idlebrain.com. 2 December 2004. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
Aswini Dutt, who is been[sic] one of the most consistent and successful film producer during spanning period over 27 years ....
- ^ "Interview of Producer C Ashwini Dutt about Sita Ramam". Ragalahari. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Interview with Aswini Dutt by Jeevi". Idlebrain.com. 17 August 2002. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
Aswini Dutt, the man behind Telugu Cinema's one of the prestigious banners - Vyjayanthi Movies, is a senior most producer of Telugu film industry. He has produced blockbusters with all the stars of Telugu Cinema ranging from NTR to Taraka Rathnaa.
- ^ a b c Mary, S. B. Vijaya (7 May 2020). "Celebrating 30 years of the Chiranjeevi-Sridevi Telugu blockbuster 'Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
Vyjayanthi Movies, known for big budget and lavish productions had a successful run, till it hit a rough patch with Shakti in 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Interview with Aswini Dutt by Jeevi". Idlebrain.com. 17 August 2002. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ Producer C. Aswani Dutt || Cheppalani Vundhi | 18th September 2021, archived from the original on 3 August 2022, retrieved 3 September 2022 From 2:05 to 3:02
- ^ Mary, S. B. Vijaya (7 May 2020). "Celebrating 30 years of the Chiranjeevi-Sridevi Telugu blockbuster 'Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
The late Jandhyala, who Ashwini Dutt informs, was his classmate from Kindergarten to SSLC, worked wonders with his trademark humour in the dialogues.
- ^ "Ashwini Dutt's daughter Priyanka Dutt marries director Nag Ashwin". DNA India. 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d Mary, S. B. Vijaya (7 May 2020). "Celebrating 30 years of the Chiranjeevi-Sridevi Telugu blockbuster 'Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ First story about the inception of Vyjayanthi Movies presented by Rana | #VintageVyjayanthi, archived from the original on 18 November 2022, retrieved 4 September 2022
- ^ a b "Story Behind 'Vyjayanthi' Name Finally Revealed". Mirchi9. 24 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ A beautiful story of Legendary NTR on his birthday | Vintage Vyjayanthi, Vyjayanthi Network, 28 May 2020, archived from the original on 30 April 2023, retrieved 12 September 2022
- ^ "Interview with Aswini Dutt by Jeevi". Idlebrain.com. 6 August 2003. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
Aswini Dutt, the man behind Telugu Cinema's one of the prestigious banners - Vyjayanthi Movies, is a senior most producer of Telugu film industry. He has produced blockbusters with all the stars of Telugu Cinema ranging from NTR to NTR.
- ^ Journey Of Vyjayanthi Movies in Tollywood From 1974 To Till Now, archived from the original on 18 November 2022, retrieved 4 September 2022
- ^ "Interview : Ashwini Dutt – Dulquer did a convincing job in Sita Ramam". 123Telugu.com. 28 July 2022. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "అశ్వనీదత్ చిత్రానికి దర్శకుడు మారాడు!" (PDF). Zamin Ryot (in Telugu). 21 November 1997. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.