Navodaya Studio is an Indian

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

headquartered at

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It is one of the earliest film studios in Kerala, established in 1976 by

Navodaya Appachan Maliampurackal Chacko Punnoose, known as Navodaya Appachan (6 February 1924 – 23 April 2012) was an Indian film producer, director and entrepreneur. He was best known for his work in Malayalam cinema, especially as the founder of Navoday ...

. Navodaya is known for producing some of the landmark films in

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

History

The studio was founded by Apachan in 1976, after he parted ways with his brother

Kunchacko Maliampurackal Chacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from it ...

Udaya Studio Udaya Studios is one of the oldest film studios in the Malayalam film industry of India. It was established in 1947 by director-producer Kunchacko (1912–1976) and film distributor K. V. Koshy in Pathirappally, Alappuzha in Kerala. The studio ...

Works

The first film '' Kadathanattu Makkam'' produced by Navodaya studio was directed by Appachan himself. The second film ''

Thacholi Ambu ''Thacholi Ambu'' is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language historical drama film directed and produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio. It was the first anamorphic CinemaScope film in Malayalam. Starring Prem Nazir in the title role, al ...

'' was the first cinemascope film in Malayalam. It was followed by ''

Padayottam Padayottam may refer to: * ''Padayottam'' (1982 film), an Indian Malayalam-language epic period drama film * ''Padayottam'' (2018 film), an Indian Malayalam-language black comedy film {{disambiguation ...

'', which was the first

70 mm film 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...

in India. The post production work of ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian epic action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired ...

'', the first 70 mm production in India was done in the United Kingdom. But for ''Padayottam'', the works were done at Prasad Labs,

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

. In 1982, India's first

3D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. 3D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in American cinema and later experienced a worldwide r ...

, ''

My Dear Kuttichathan ''My Dear Kuttichathan'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language children's fantasy film directed by Jijo Punnoose and produced by his father Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio. It was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D format. Wi ...

'' was released. Apart from these landmark films, Navodaya also produced numerous hit films in Malayalam including ''

'', ''

Manjil Virinja Pookkal ''Manjil Virinja Pookkal'' () is a 1980 Indian Malayalam-language romantic thriller film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio and written and directed by Fazil (director), Fazil. It stars Shankar (actor), Shankar, Mohanlal and P ...

'', ''

'' and ''

Chanakyan ''Chanakyan'' is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language thriller film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio and directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar in his directorial debut. Starring Kamal Haasan, Urmila Matondkar, Jayaram, Madhu, and Thila ...

''. The studio was later renovated in 2000's welcoming the needs of the television industry. Appachan's sons Jijo Punnoose and Jose Punnoose has taken over the functioning. Appachan, along with the Navodaya Studios, was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award in 2011.

References

{{Reflist Film distributors of India Film production companies of Kerala Indian film studios Entertainment companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in Kerala