Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is an Indian filmmaker and writer who is famous for her films like “Nil Battey Sannata” and “Bareilly Ki Barfi.”
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ashwiny Iyer was born on Monday, 15 October 1979 (age 43 years; as of 2022) in Mulund, Mumbai. She completed her school education at St Mary’s Convent, and later, she completed her higher education at SIES College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. Later, she went on to attend an art school; however, her mother was not happy with her decision.
Physical Appearance
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
She was born in a Tamil Hindu Family. Her Mother’s name is Lakshmi Subramanium, a former principal of S.M.P.R. school in Mulund.
Husband & Children
She is married to the Indian writer-director Nitesh Tiwari.
The couple has two children named Amaarisa and Aaradhya.
Career
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari worked at the advertising agency Leo Burnett for 15 years. She quit Leo Burnett to pursue her dream of filmmaking. She made her directorial debut with the movie “Nil Battey Sannata (2016),” which went internationally by the name “The New Classmate.”
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari directed the Tamil film “Amma Kanakku,” which was the remake of Nil Battey Sannata in 2016. Later, she directed a short film “What’s for Breakfast.” She won a Filmfare award for her 2017 romantic comedy “Bareilly Ki Barfi.” Soon after the success of the film Bareilly Ki Barfi, she received two film offers from Ekta Kapoor‘s Balaji Motion Pictures. In 2018, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and her husband co-established a production company named Earthsky Pictures under which she started directing advertisement films for the television industry. In 2018, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari directed the film ‘Panga’ starring Indian actors Kangana Ranaut, Neena Gupta, Richa Chadda, and Jassie Gill. This film was officially released on 24 January 2020, and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari garnered acclaim from critics for this film for challenging the stereotypes in the film. In 2021, a web series titled ‘BreakPoint’ was directed by her on the lives of well-known Indian tennis players Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi under her own production company. On 22 April 2021, at a media conference, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari stated that she would soon release a documentary film on the life of N. R. Narayana Murthy and his wife, Sudha Murthy.
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and her husband, Nitesh Tiwari, announced in May 2022 that they would soon release a young-adult comedy-drama Bas Karo Aunty!, starring Ishwak Singh and Mahima Makwana.
Awards
- In 2012, she was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the short film “What’s for Breakfast.”
Filmfare Award
- In 2017, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari was the winner of the Best Debut Director award for the film “Nil Battey Sannata.”
- In 2018, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari won the Best Director award for the film “Bareilly Ki Barfi.”
Favourites
- Food: Dahi Chawal, Pancakes, Bhutta, Sattu Roti, Truffles, Ippodu, Spaghetti, Sabudana Khichdi, Khandvi
- Movie Genre: Drama
- Movie(s): Bicycle Thief, Dangal
- Singer(s): Alka Yagnik, Jassie Gill
- Song: Gazab Ka Hai Din Socho Zara from the film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988)
- Animal: Cats
Facts/Trivia
- Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is a gold medalist in commercial arts from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai.
- She is the recipient of many film awards such as Cannes Lions, New York festival, One show, Promax, and the Goafest Awards.
- Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is an avid animal lover. She often shares pictures of her pet cat Khoblu on various social media platforms.
- Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari was selected as one of the “Powerful Women in 2016” in the Femina Poll.
- In 2016, the film Nil Battey Sannata was inspired by the life story of a Kaun Banega Crorepati contestant, and this film was produced under the Colour Yellow Productions.
- She was featured in the Grazia Women Achievers magazine in 2016. In the same year, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari delivered a motivational speech on women, films, and self-empowerment at the TEDx Bangalore.
- She considers herself a feminist to the core. In an interview with a media house, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari revealed that she directed the film Panga because she wanted to send a message to the world that even after giving up the career for the rearing of her children, a woman could resume her career to throw out the rules already laid by the patriarchal society. In the same conversation, she added that women could perform physical tasks even better after bearing children. She said,
In any household, it’s the mother/wife who takes care of the family. Most women give up their career to take up a permanent job: motherhood. These are rules laid by patriarchal society. There seems to be a perception that women can’t perform physically post pregnancy. However, Serena Williams and Sania Mirza returned to sports and emerged victorious. That’s what we are discussing in Panga.”
- She loves doing photography as her hobby.
- Once, in an interview with a media reporter, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari talked about the people around her who called her “Sir” and not “Madam.” She said that it was a male dominating society, where a man could not tolerate the success of a woman. That was why she liked to be called “Sir” and not Ma’am while at work.
- At a media conference, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari released her debut novel ‘Mapping Love’ on 1 August 2021.
- Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari often shares pictures and videos on various social media platforms. Over 276k people follow her Instagram account. She has a Facebook page named #NoMakeupFoodStory, where she posts the cover pages of the books she likes to read.
- She has inked a tattoo of the names of her husband and children on her forearm in Bangla language. In a conversation with a media house, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari revealed that she loved Bengali food and adored wearing Bengali sarees. She said,
I also wear a lot of Bengali saris and love Bengali food. By mistake I think I was born a south Indian!”
Very inspiring to hear about Ashwini