Ashok Amritraj, CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment Group, is now a member of the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a Los Angeles-based non-profit hospital, according to reports by Deadline.
A former professional tennis player, Amritraj turned into a Hollywood producer with a passion for philanthropic activities on a global scale. His work also includes the creation of inclusive, socially relevant and diverse content.
In 2016, Amritraj was appointed as the United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador and in 2018, he was appointed a Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National du Merité by a decree of the President of the Republic of France.
In February 2022, he was also named as the chair of a study on aging which was a joint project between the United States National Institutes of Health and India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Amritraj was also the former CEO of National Geographic Films apart from being a professional tennis champ, having adorned the whites of Wimbledon and having won the WTT championships with Jerry Buss's LA Strings in 1978, as reported by American Kahani.
His has leveraged his position as a prominent Hollywood producer to build bridges between the western film world and India. Amritraj has established the Hyde Park-Warner Music Asian Women Fellowship for women writers and directors from Asia and the Asian diaspora.
Amritraj Brothers In Tennis
The Amritraj siblings i.e. Ashok Amritraj and his younger brother Vijay Amritraj moved to Southern California in the mid-1970s. The Indian-origin brothers became early members of World Team Tennis which was the all-star league co-founded by the iconic Billie Jean King. Vijay Amritraj played for Jerry Buss' Lose Angeles Strings team prior to Buss taking over the Lakers. Himself a tennis icon, Vijay Amritraj is also a successful film and television star.
According to Deadline, a new documentary is being produced which is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sami Khan, which will trace the brothers' childhood in India and also shine light on the Amritraj brothers' crucial role in the Indian team that boycotted the 1974 Davis Cup Finals against South Africa in order to protest against Apartheid.
(With inputs from Deadline and American Kahani)
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