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AVM Productions

Former type	Limited
Industry	Film, television
Successor	Sun Pictures
Founded	1945
Founder	A. V. Meiyappan
Defunct	2019
Headquarters	Vadapalani, Chennai , India
Area served	South India
Products	Motion pictures, television programs
Total assets	US$307 million
Website	http://www.avm.in/

AVM Productions was an Indian film production studio. It is the final oldest survived studio in India.^[1][2] The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 170 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema.^[2] AVM has introduced numerous actors in Southern industries, some of the prominent actors are Vyjayanthimala, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar, S. S. Rajendran and Kamal Haasan. The AVM Studios besides the shooting floors, has recording, dubbing and a preview theatre. The complex also houses facilities for production and post production processing.^[2]

Early history

Born on 28 July 1907, Avichi Meiyappan hailed from a Nattukottai Nagarathar family of Karaikkudi in Tamil Nadu. Avichi Chettiar ran a mini-department store, named AV & Sons. It sold gramophone records. Meiyappan, who joined his father's shop even as a teenager, decided to produce gramophone records instead of merely marketing them. He came to Madras where along with friends K. S. Narayana Iyengar, Subbaiah Chettiar and others promoted Saraswathi Stores. He found excellent support in K. P. Varadachari, its manager, and his lawyer friend Thoothukudi Govindachari Raghavachari he produced many records.

Maiden venture

Globe at the AVM Studios in Chennai

The dawn of the talkie era (1931) inspired Meiyappan to start Saraswathi Sound Productions and he launched his maiden movie venture, Alli Arjuna a Hindu mythology based movie. The film was shot in Calcutta and proved a total flop as the one that followed named Ratnavali. At this point, an aspiring amateur actor and college graduate A. T. Krishnaswamy joined the unit as assistant director who was associated with Meiyappan for nearly a decade and wrote and directed the early AVM productions.

The reverses forced Meiyappan to lie low but only for a while. In association with Jayanthilal, a cinema house owner based in Bangalore, he promoted a new company Pragati Pictures Limited. Grabbing an opportunity that came his way, AVM made Nandakumar, Tamil version of a Marathi film launching it as a Pragati production. The highlight of this movie was the debut of T. R. Mahalingam in to Tamil movie Industry.

The film was a landmark because for the first time playback singing was tried, with Lalitha Venkatraman singing for the actor who played Devaki. Meiyappan took the sprawling Club House off Mount Road on lease and shot scenes without going to studios and erecting sets. Soon after he shifted his unit to another sprawling edifice known as Admiralty House in Adyar.

Success

Diamond Jubilee year of AVM Productions

Creating a set in AVM Studio, Chennai

In 1940, Meiyappan produced Bhoo Kailas, a mythological film which created history. The film was made in Telugu, its lead players were from Telugu cinema and it was directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni, a Mangalorean who had his training in Bombay. The film turned out to be a big hit and also won critical acclaim! Meiyappan struck gold with comedy next. Sabapathy (1941) with the saucer-eyed T. R. Ramachandran in the lead,along with Kali N. Rathnam and K. Sarangapani was a runaway success. Then came a series of hits like En Manaivi, Harishchandra (1943), Sri Valli.

The city of Madras began to feel the strains of the World War II raging on elsewhere and to reduce the exposure from Japanese bombing, Meiyappan moved his facilities to Karaikudi. In the outskirts of the town karaikudi he occupied a drama auditorium with a large open area around it on long lease and erected a studio. Thus was born AVM Productions with AVM Studios.

Hits like Nam Iruvar (1947), Andha Naal (1954), and the National Award-winning Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke (1957) followed.

Meiyappan died on 12 August 1979, and after his demise his sons took over the mantle.^[3]

In 2007, AVM produced Sivaji which at ₹ 95 crore, was said to be the most expensive film ever made in the history of the Indian film industry at that time.^[4]

In 2013, AVM led by Aruna Guhan and Aparna Guhan started producing films to be screened only on the net.^[5] Their first such production was a 55-minute-film, titled Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum.^[6]

Filmography

Films

Television

• Naanayam


• Nimmadhi Ungal Choice


• Aachi International


• Galatta Kudumbam


• Vazhndhu Kaattugiren


• Vaazhkai


• 
  Aasai (Sun TV)


• 
  Aasai (Vijay TV)


• Sondham


• Nambikkai


• Sorgam


• Vairanenjam


• Mohini


• Nimmadhi


• Naanayam


• Uravukku Kai Koduppom


• Aval Oru Minsaram


• Vairakkiyam


• Savale Samali


• Manathil Uruthi Vendum


• samarasam


• oru penin kathai


• oru manithanin katha


• netraya minnithargal


• vellai


• enga vaa


• paasam


• venilla metulu


• Geethanjali


• Aarthi


• take it easy vazhkai


• Gopi


• Dhik Dhik Dhik

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References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AVM Productions.

• Official website


• 
  AVM Productions on IMDb
  


• List of films produced by AVM