Ashok Amritraj: There aren’t many movie stars left in the world

Why Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj believes that book adaptations and IPs are more significant than ever

(Originally published in The Hindu on June 22, 2022)

In 1975, as a young tennis ace making his journey from Madras to California, Ashok Amritraj had a single goal: to win over the American silver screen. After a career spanning over four decades and 120 films, Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj seems content.

After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, it is back to business as usual at Ashok’s production house, Hyde Park Entertainment. “We focussed more on developing projects during the break. That’s why our slate for the upcoming years seems vibrant,” says Ashok, who was recently in Chennai.

The producer has 25 projects in the development stage. One of those is an animated musical adaptation of Nidhi Chanani’s graphic novel  Pashmina that reunites Ashok with AR Rahman after 24 years (since the Tamil film  Jeans). “It’s like an Indian-American version of  Coco. We will be seeing a grandmother, a mother, and a teenager getting together. The young woman acts like a bridge between the two generations. The story is certainly exciting,” says Ashok, adding that the emotional facets of the storyline pushed him to take it on.

This year, he will begin work for the Blake Lively-starrer  Proxy from Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó (of  Pieces Of A Woman-fame). There is also a film that puts a sci-fi twist on the Rubik’s Cube. Yet, Ashok’s face lights up more, for obvious reasons, with the mention of the……..

Read the full interview here: Ashok Amritraj Interview