| | 4 | One of the top South Indian studios set up in 1947 by film-maker, producer and mogul A.V. Meiyappan (1907-79). Born to a family of Chettiars, Meiyappan initially ran a shop named A.V. & Sons, later expanded (1932) to include Saraswathi Stores, also distributor for the German Odeon label. Début as producer with Saraswathi Sound (Alli Arjuna, 1935). His previous companies included Saraswathi Talkies and Pragati Pics, the latter known for comedy double bills written by A.T. Krishnaswamy (Poli Panchali, 1940; Sabhapati, 1941) and for the film of R. Nagendra Rao’s play, Bhukailasa (1940), directed by Sundarrao Nadkarni. Following his Tamil hit, Srivalli (1945) starring singer- musician T.R. Mahalingam, Meiyappan established his AVM Studio adapting S.V. Sahasranamam’s stage hit Nam Iruvar (1947). The film was a precursor of the classic DMK Film dramas made at this studio later, e.g. Parasakthi (1952). Developed a unique production infrastructure in four Indian languages, including Hindi films starting with Bahar (1951), starring Vyjayanthimala in a remake of her début, the hit Vazhkai (1949), directed by M.V. Raman. Made films such as Bedara Kannappa (1954) and Sadarame (1956) in Kannada, the Raj Kapoor-Nargis Hindi hit, Chori Chori (1956), the Tamil films Andha Naal (1954), Server Sundaram (1964). AVM also pioneered the practice of dubbing productions. Among the directors working in the four languages at AVM were M.V. Raman, Krishnan-Panju, A. Bhimsingh, A.C. Trilogchander and S.P. Muthuraman, who worked mainly in Tamil. Meiyappan published his autobiography, Enadhu Vazhkai Anubhavangal/The Experiences of My Life (1974). He is credited with the direction of Sabhapati (1941), En Manaivi (with S. Nadkarni, 1942), Srivalli (1945), Nam Iruvar (1947) and Vethala Ulagam (1948). The studio was dormant towards the end of his life, although his son Saravanan later made Murattu Kalai (1980), which confirmed Rajnikant’s superstar status, and Sahakala Vallavan (1982) with Kamalahasan, both directed by S.P. Muthuraman, and seen as re- establishing the studio with themes celebrating atavistic notions of masculinity. |