Kollywood producer AVM Saravanan passes away at 86; industry pays tribute

CHENNAI: One of Kollywood’s senior producers, AVM Saravanan, who managed AVM Productions founded by his father and delivered several box-office hits featuring the industry’s biggest stars, passed away at 86 due to age-related ailments on Thursday.

AVM Productions, founded in 1945 by his father A V Meiyappan, regarded as one of the pioneers of Tamil cinema, has produced films starring iconic actors including M G Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. The production house has also made several popular television series.




Saravanan, who served as the Sheriff of Madras in 1986, was known among actors as a tall man, usually dressed in a white shirt and trousers, often seen standing with folded arms as he led many films to state and national awards.

The movies he was involved in include Manorama’s “Patti Sollai Thattathe,” Visu’s “Samsaram Adhu Minsaram,” Rajinikanth’s “Sivaji: The Boss,” and the Arvind Swamy–Prabhudeva starrer “Minsara Kanavu,” as well as Suriya’s “Ayan.”