Saravanan, Tamil cinema’s ‘gentleman producer’, dead

CHENNAI: M Saravanan, the soft-spoken steward of AVM Productions who nurtured Tamil cinema done much than fractional a period of changes portion helping signifier careers of its top stars similar Kamal Haasan, Sivaji Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala and Sivakumar, died Thursday successful Chennai of age-related ailments.

He was 86.Widely known arsenic the “gentleman producer” of Kollywood, M Saravanan, on with his brothers Kumaran, Murugan, and Balasubramanian, oversaw AVM Productions — India’s oldest movie workplace — for much than 60 years, producing a drawstring of box-office hits successful Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. The workplace was founded by his begetter AV Meiyappan successful 1945.Saravanan’s sanction archetypal appeared successful the credits of Mamiyar Mechina Marumagal (1959), a remake of a Marathi film.

The movie didn’t bash well, but his next, Deiva Piravi, starring Sivaji Ganesan, became a occurrence and was aboriginal remade successful Hindi arsenic Bindya (starring Balraj Sahni).Over the decades, Saravanan supervised a scintillating catalogue that came to specify Tamil cinema. These included Kalathur Kannamma (which introduced Kamal Haasan successful 1960), Shivaji Ganesan’s Pava Mannippu (1961), MGR’s Anbe Vaa (1966), Rajinikanth’s Paayum Puli (1983).

Tributes poured successful connected Thursday. Chief curate MK Stalin said Saravanan’s AVM Production had a agelong enslaved with the Dravidian movement’s cinematic journey. “The enslaved grew into a narration of familial affection.... When I visited the AVM Heritage Museum successful May 2023, helium warmly reminisced astir those cherished memories,” Stalin recalled.Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi described Saravanan’s decease arsenic a “significant nonaccomplishment to the taste and originative landscape” of the state.Saravanan is survived by his lad MS Guhan, girl Usha and his brothers.