One Film, ₹32 Crore Loss! The Shock That Made Ashwini Dutt Think About Quitting Cinema

Veteran producer C. Ashwini Dutt, founder of Vyjayanthi Movies, recently opened up about one of the toughest phases of his career. Despite delivering blockbuster films such as Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Indra, Mahanati, and Kalki 2898 AD, he revealed that Jr NTR’s 2011 film Shakti caused him a massive loss of nearly ₹32 crore. Directed by Meher Ramesh and made on a huge budget, the film failed to meet expectations at the box office.

Ashwini Dutt stated that the financial setback left him deeply disappointed and even made him consider quitting the film industry altogether. He revealed that he stayed away from film production for nearly four years after the movie’s failure. The producer also recalled the support he received from stars like Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna during difficult times. Today, however, Vyjayanthi Movies has bounced back strongly with the global success of Kalki 2898 AD.