Ashwin Varde

Biography:

Ashwin Varde is a filmmaker who, in his unique introduction, describes himself as a ‘journalist at heart, filmmaker by profession, and crusader by choice.’ He took on the role of producer for three notable Bollywood movies: ‘Boss’ (2014), ‘The Shaukeens’ (2014), and ‘Mubarakan’ (2017). Initially, Ashwin Varde embarked on his filmmaking journey as a co-producer, contributing his efforts to the movie ‘Ragini MMS’ (2011).

‘Ragini MMS’ was a horror film directed by Pawan Kripalani and produced by Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor of Balaji Telefilms. The film featured Rajkummar Rao and Kainaz Motivala in leading roles. Interestingly, a classic song ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ sung by Asha Bhosle and composed by S.D. Burman from Dev Anand’s movie ‘Jewel Thief’ was incorporated in parts throughout the film.

The movie was a collaborative effort, co-produced by Puneet Kinra, Siddharth M Jain, Tanuj Garg, Sanjay Rajagopal, and Ashwin Varde. In 2013, Ashwin Varde teamed up with Viacom 18 and Cape of Good Films to produce ‘Boss,’ directed by Anthony D’Souza. This film served as a Hindi remake of the Malayalam movie ‘Pokkiri Raja,’ starring Mammootty, Prithviraj, and Shriya Saran. The Hindi version featured Akshay Kumar in the lead role, supported by Mithun Chakraborty, Shiv Pandit, Ronit Roy, and Aditi Rao Hydari.

While ‘Boss’ had an average performance in its initial week, its collections dwindled in the second week. In 2014, Ashwin Varde, in collaboration with Akshay Kumar and Trilogy Digital Media Ltd., produced ‘The Shaukeens.’ This movie was also a remake, drawing inspiration from the 1982 classic film ‘Shaukeen,’ directed by Basu Chatterjee, which featured Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt, and A K Hangal in the lead roles.