Ashok Kheny

**Ashok Kheny** (born October 5, 1950) is an Indian entrepreneur, infrastructure developer, politician, and film producer who has contributed notably to the Kannada film industry and celebrity sports. Renowned for his flamboyant public persona and wide-ranging business ventures, he is best known as the Managing Director of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), the company behind the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project.

Born in Bidar, Karnataka, Kheny graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Surathkal, before moving to the United States to pursue higher education and build a successful engineering and construction business in Philadelphia. Upon returning to India in the mid-1990s, he spearheaded large-scale highway and tollway infrastructure projects across Karnataka.

Kheny stepped into Sandalwood under his production banner, AKK Entertainment. He made a splash by producing the fantasy comedy *Gandedhe* (2010), starring Chiranjeevi Sarja and Ragini Dwivedi, in which he also made a cameo screen appearance. He further backed films like the romantic entertainer *Shrungara* and *Prasad* (2012), with the latter winning critical acclaim and the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film with Social Concern.

Beyond cinema, Kheny played a pioneering role in blending regional cinema with sports as the owner of the Karnataka Bulldozers cricket franchise in the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), led by Kiccha Sudeep, which won multiple tournament titles. He later entered electoral politics, winning as an MLA from the Bidar South constituency in the 2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections under the Karnataka Makkala Paksha banner before joining the Indian National Congress. Balancing public infrastructure, cinema, sports, and politics, he remains a prominent public figure across Karnataka.