India-born Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj, who has produced including Tamil romantic thriller Jeans and Hollywood hits Antitrust, Walking Tall and Bringing Down the House, was honoured by noted industrialist Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi on September 18 during a celebration at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif, to compliment Amritraj’s completion of 800 films.

The function was attended by many Hollywood and Bollywood biggies, including stars Preity Zinta, Anil Kapoor, film executives Richard Fox and Patrick Aiello. Talking on the occasion, Ashok Amritraj said that when he came to Hollywood, there were no Indians in the industry and it was an uphill battle.

One of the most successful producers in Hollywood today, Amritraj was born in India and migrated to the U.S. in 1975 as a professional tennis player. He has played in every major tennis tournament during his nine-year career, including Wimbeldon and the U.S. Open.

In 1984, he ventured in the film industry as an executive producer of Fleshburn. His first independent production concern came in 1985 with Nine Deaths of the Ninja. Though it took him years to establish himself as a filmmaker, he went on to produce many star-driven blockbusters like Moonlight Mile with Tom Hanks, Bandits with Bruce Willis, Bringing Down the House with Steve Martin and Raising Helen with Kate Hudson.

In 1999, Amritraj formed his own production company, Hyde Park Entertainment. His current projects are Risen: The Story of the First Easter, Dead of Night, The Dark Country and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Amritraj is set to start work on The Unbound Captives to be directed by Madeline Stow with Hugh Jackman in the lead.