Madonne Ashwin

Madonne Ashwin
Born	Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Film director. Screenwriter
Years active	2012-present
Known for	Mandela Maaveeran

Madonne Ashwin is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in the Tamil film industry. He is known for his films Mandela and Maaveeran . He is a recipient of three National Film Awards.

Career

Madonne Ashwin initially made short films for Naalaya Iyakkunar such as Dharmam before working as a dialgoue writer for Kurangu Bommai (2017) under Nithilan Saminathan. ^{[1] [2]} He made his feature film debut with the political satire film Mandela (2021). ^[2] He cites R. K. Laxman as an inspiration for the film as he made political cartoons without hurting anyone's sentiments. ^{[2] [3]}

His next film was Maaveeran (2025), which is about a cartoonist that has supernatural powers. Ashwin revealed that the breaking the fourth wall aspect of the film was inspired by Stranger than Fiction and Ober (both 2006). ^[4] Lokesh Kanagaraj had given him a few inputs for the film. ^[5]

Filmography

As film director

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2012	Dharmam	Short film; also producer
2021	Mandela	Directorial debut
2023	Maaveeran		[6]
TBA	Chiyaan 63		[7]

As writer

Year	Title	Writer	Notes	Ref.
2017	Kurangu Bommai	Dialogues	Also actor
2018	Vella Raja	Yes	TV series

Accolades

Award Ceremony	Year	Category	Work	Result
National Film Award – Special Mention (non-feature film)	2013	Best Director	Dharmam	Won [1]
68th National Film Awards	2022	Best Debut Film of a Director	Mandela	Won [8]
		Best Screenplay (Dialogue)		Won [2]
10th South Indian International Movie Awards		Best Debut Director		Won
67th Filmfare Awards South		Best Director		Nominated
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards		Best Debut Director		Won
		Best Story		Nominated
		Best Screenplay		Nominated
69th Filmfare Awards South	2024	Best Director	Maaveeran	Nominated [9]

References

1. "Social drama". The Hindu. 18 April 2014.
2. "Laxman's cartoons inspired 'Mandela' story, says National Award winner Madonne Ashwin". Deccan Herald.
3. "RK Laxman's cartoons inspired me to write Mandela: National Award-winning director Madonne Ashwin". OTTPlay.
4. Krishna (5 July 2023). "Madonne Ashwin on Maaveeran's Climax: The Idea Wasn't Clearly Conveyed". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
5. "Lokesh Kanagaraj gave many ideas for 'Maaveeran', reveals director Madonne Ashwin". The Times of India. 21 June 2023. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 16 August 2023.
6. "'Maaveeran' movie review: Sivakarthikeyan, Madonne Ashwin sketch a fascinating superhero film". The Hindu. 14 July 2023. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 16 August 2023.
7. "Chiyaan 63: Vikram teams with 'Mandela' and 'Maaveeran' director for next". The Hindu. 13 December 2024.
8. "68th National Film Awards". The Hindu . 22 July 2022. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 22 July 2022.
9. "Filmfare Awards South 2024 full winners list: Nani's Dasara, Siddharth's Chithha win big". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 7 August 2024.