Ashok Amritraj

Ashok Amritraj
Country (sports)  India
Born (1956-02-22) 22 February 1956
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Ashok Amritraj (born 22 February 1956)[1] is an Indian American film producer, former tour professional tennis player, chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment. He is also the former CEO of National Geographic Films.

Career

Professional tennis

Amritraj is also a former tennis player and has represented India on an international level. During his nine-year career, he competed in doubles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and won the World Team Tennis Championship title with the L.A. Strings in 1978 where he was voted Most Valuable Player. As a junior, he reached the finals of the Junior Singles at Wimbledon in 1974. Both his brothers, Vijay and Anand Amritraj, are accomplished tennis players, together reaching the Davis Cup final in 1987.

Film production

Ashok Amritraj at the launch function of his Auto-Biography: Advantage Hollywood in Chennai.

An internationally renowned award-winning producer, Ashok Amritraj has made over 100 films during the span of his 30-year career, with worldwide revenues in excess of $2 billion. He has partnered with every major studio in Hollywood and produced films starring the likes of Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Dustin Hoffman, Andrew Garfield, Steve Martin, Antonio Banderas, Robert De Niro, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jennifer Aniston, Nicolas Cage, and many more.

As Chairman and CEO of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, Amritraj has grown the Company into a cutting-edge independent alternative to the traditional Hollywood system, fully realizing his vision for a progressive global company that incorporates the most essential elements of a full-fledged studio. Hyde Park’s mandate encompasses feature film, television, digital, documentary, and cross- cultural content, with the Company possessing development, production, and financing capabilities in addition to handling worldwide sales and marketing.

Amritraj's box office hits include films such as GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, starring Nicolas Cage, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, starring Steve Martin, PREMONITION, starring Sandra Bullock, WALKING TALL starring The Rock, and many more, as well as critically acclaimed titles including 99 HOMES starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon, BLUE VALENTINE, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and SHOPGIRL, starring Steve Martin and Claire Danes.

Hyde Park and ImageNation AbuDhabi continue their long term multimillion-dollar feature film partnership with their next release "Prey", a co-production with Blumhouse Productions directed by Franck Khalfoun (Amityville:The Awakening).

Amritraj’s extraordinary career from Wimbledon tennis player to billion dollar Hollywood producer (chronicled in his autobiography Advantage Hollywood) is matched only by his commitment to education, diversity, and equality. Dedicating a significant amount of his time to philanthropic endeavors worldwide, Amritraj was recently appointed as the first United Nations in India Goodwill Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Amritraj continues to pave the way for the intersection of entertainment and philanthropy, and remains fully engaged in the creation of socially-relevant content, including producing and hosting the critically acclaimed show “Chance of a Lifetime” in partnership with the United Nations and the recently announced partnership with Global Citizen (the social action platform for a global generation) to produce unique, impactful content that shines a spotlight on the world's biggest challenges.

Amritraj’s various awards include a Certificate of Special Recognition from the United States Congress for Exemplary Public Service to the People of the United States of America, the Producer of Vision Award from the Hollywood community, and a special award from the American Indian Foundation (chaired by President Bill Clinton) for “making India and Indians proud”. Amritraj was named “Producer of the Decade” by the Spirit of India Foundation, in addition to being celebrated by the Indian International Film Festival for his “extraordinary contribution by an Indian in international cinema.”

Amritraj served on the Foreign Film Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was a member of the Los Angeles Board for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and was on the International Council for the Emmy Awards. In 2015, he was bestowed an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of East London. In addition to working with UEL, Amritraj currently serves on the advisory board for the Dodge Film School at Chapman University.

Personal life

Amritraj lives in Los Angeles with his 2 children, Priya and Milan, along with his wife, Chitra.

Filmography

As Producer

As Executive Producer

As Director

References

  1. ↑ Roy, Amit (21 February 2009). "Slumdog will sweep". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India.
  2. ↑ "Hyde Park Hunts Latest 'Killer'".
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