Ashok Amritraj

Ashok Amritraj (born 22 February 1956) is Chairman and CEO of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, and was formerly CEO of National Geographic Films.

An internationally renowned award-winning producer, Amritraj has made over 100 films during the span of his 35-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 Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Dustin Hoffman, Andrew Garfield, Steve Martin, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Aniston, Nicolas Cage, and many more.

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 gender equality. Dedicating a significant amount of his time to philanthropic endeavors worldwide, in 2016 Amritraj was appointed as the first United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador for the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. In December 2018, by decree of the President of the Republic of France, Amritraj was appointed a Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National du Merité.

Amritraj has grown Hyde Park 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 local language content, with the Company possessing development, production, and financing capabilities in addition to handling worldwide sales and marketing.

Amritraj has had box office hits 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.

Amritraj’s current projects include: supernatural thriller, Prey, in partnership with Blumhouse Productions, Pashmina, a Major Animated Musical in partnership with Netflix, to be directed by Gurinder Chadha and with music by Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman, and Fordlandia, a Television event series, to be directed by Werner Herzog at AMC Studios.

Hyde Park Entertainment Group and its artists have received awards and recognition from the major award shows and film festivals including the Oscars, the BAFTA awards, the Emmys, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globes, and many more.

Amritraj serves on the Producers Executive Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and on the advisory board for the Dodge Film School at Chapman University. In 2015, he was bestowed an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of East London.

Early life

Ashok lived in Chennai his mother's name is Maggie Dhairyam and father's name is Robert Amritraj. He has two brothers, Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj, both international tennis players.

Personal life