Misplaced Pages

C. Aswini Dutt
Dutt at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2023
Born	Chalasani Aswani Dutt (1950-09-15) 15 September 1950 (age 74) 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)

Chalasani Aswini Dutt (also spelled Aswani Dutt; born 15 September 1950) is an Indian film producer primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema. He is the founder of Vyjayanthi Movies, a major film production company established in 1974. Over a career spanning five decades, Aswini Dutt has produced over 40 films, predominantly in Telugu, along with a few in other languages. He is especially known for producing high-budget films featuring major stars.

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

Aswini 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. 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.

He has three daughters — Priyanka Dutt, Swapna Dutt and Sravanthi Dutt. Priyanka is married to film director Nag Ashwin who previously directed the film Yevade Subramanyam (2015) for Vyjayanthi Movies.

Film career

Dutt started his film career as an executive producer for the black-and-white film O Seetha Katha (1974) directed by K. Viswanath. He wanted to produce a film with his favourite actor N. T. Rama Rao and approached him. Named by Rama Rao after the garland which is in Lord Krishna’s neck, Vyjayanthi Movies commenced production, under the proprietorship of Aswini Dutt. The logo of the production house contains the image of Rama Rao as Lord Sri Krishna, with a Sankha in his hand and Earth behind him. The first film produced under Vyjayanthi Movies banner was Eduruleni Manishi (1975) starring Rama Rao and Vanisri.

The production house went on to make films with the biggest stars of Telugu cinema: N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, 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. 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.

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.

Dutt mentions Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari (1990) as his most favourite among all the films that he produced.

Shelved projects

After the success of Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Aswini Dutt sought to produce a fantasy film with a focus on CGI. He initiated a project titled Bhooloka Veerudu, directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, with Chiranjeevi in the lead role. However, after completing two schedules, the team realized that the film lacked a proper storyline, leading to its eventual shelving.

In another instance, Ram Gopal Varma pitched a story to Aswini Dutt, which he and Chiranjeevi both found appealing. At the time, Varma was working on Daud, and with the possibility of delays due to Sanjay Dutt's legal issues, Varma decided to present the story to Dutt and Chiranjeevi. Aswini Dutt then began the project under Varma's direction. However, after Sanjay Dutt was released, the production of Daud resumed, and Dutt realized that the storylines of both films were strikingly similar. Uncomfortable with the overlap, he chose to stall the project.

Filmography

Films produced under Vyjayanti Movies banner.

Swapna Cinema

Raghavendra Movie Corporation and United Producers (Aswani Dutt, Allu Aravind, and K. Raghavendra Rao)

Siri Media Arts (Aswani Dutt and Allu Aravind)

Sri Priyanka Pictures

Roja Art Productions

References

1. 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.
2. "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.
3. "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 one of the most consistent and successful film producer during spanning period over 27 years ....
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ "Interview with Aswini Dutt by Jeevi". Idlebrain.com. 17 August 2002. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
6. 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
7. 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.
8. "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.
9. ^ 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.
10. First story about the inception of Vyjayanthi Movies presented by Rana | #VintageVyjayanthi, archived from the original on 18 November 2022, retrieved 4 September 2022
11. ^ "Story Behind 'Vyjayanthi' Name Finally Revealed". Mirchi9. 24 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
12. 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
13. "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.
14. "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.
15. Journey Of Vyjayanthi Movies in Tollywood From 1974 To Till Now, archived from the original on 18 November 2022, retrieved 4 September 2022
16. "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.
17. "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.

• Telugu film producers
• Living people
• Film producers from Andhra Pradesh
• Telugu Desam Party politicians
• Filmfare Awards South winners
• Nandi Award winners
• Hindi film producers
• 20th-century Indian businesspeople
• 21st-century Indian businesspeople
• 1950 births