Aashirvad Cinemas

Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 1999 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with the distribution company Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments co-founded by Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor for distributing films. It is one among the most active and leading production houses in the Malayalam film industry.

Aashirvad Cinemas has established itself by producing several hits such as '' Narasimham'' (2000), ''Ravanaprabhu'' (2001), '' Naran'' (2005),'' Rasathanthram'' (2006), ''Drishyam'' (2013), '' Oppam'' (2016), '' Lucifer ''(2019) and '' Neru'' (2023). It has also produced three of the most expensive Malayalam films — '' Odiyan'' (2018), ''Lucifer'' (2019), and '' Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham'' (2020) with Marakkar not being profitable ventures for the production house.

Aashirvad Cinemas has won several awards, including two National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards and a Filmfare Awards South. In 2019, Aashirvad Cinemas opened office in Hong Kong with the name Feitian Aashirvad Cinemas and signed an agreement with a Chinese film production company to co-produce and distribute films in China. Aashirvad Cinemas is the currently the biggest production company in Mollywood. It has made big budget films like '' Odiyan'' (₹30 crore), ''Lucifer'' (₹35 crore), '' Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham'' (₹100 crore), and ''Barroz'' (₹150 crore) which became the biggest box-office bomb in Malayalam cinema history by earning 18 crore in box office.

History

2000-2010

Aashirvad Cinemas was founded by Mohanlal's former chauffeur Antony Perumbavoor in 1999. Its first production was the 2000 film, '' Narasimham''. The company's next was the 2001 action drama film, '' Raavanaprabhu'', which was a sequel to the 1993 film, '' Devasuram''. The film won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. Over the years, Aashrivad Cinemas have continued to receive great reception and success for their films and continue making new records. The action drama '' Natturajavu'' was the only release in 2004. It released coinciding with the festival of Onam and was the winner among the Onam releases. Joshiy-directed action drama '' Naran'' was the only release in 2005, which was the winner among the Onam releases of the year. In the following year, Sathyan Anthikkad-directed family drama '' Rasathanthram'' became a commercial success. Two films released in 2009, action film '' Sagar Alias Jackie Reloaded'' directed by Amal Neerad, a spiritual successor to Mohanlal's 1987 film ''Irupatham Noottandu''. It had a good opening which did not sustain in the following weeks.

2010-2020

The 2011 comedy film ''China Town'' made ₹15.2 crore at the box office and was a major commercial success. The 2012 drama '' Spirit'' won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues. In 2013, family-thriller ''Drishyam'' received widespread critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing Malayalam and industry hit film and the first to gross over ₹50 crore mark at the box office. The 2016 crime thriller '' Oppam'' also became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time by grossing ₹65 crore worldwide. Mohanlal and Lal Jose collaborated for the first time in '' Velipadinte Pusthakam'' in 2017, which was a moderate success. In 2019, Prithviraj Sukumaran-directed action drama ''Lucifer'' grossed ₹128 crore worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film till date, beating Mohanlal's ''Pulimurugan''. It was also the first Malayalam film to gross over ₹50 crores in overseas markets. It was followed by the comedy-drama '' Ittymaani: Made in China'' directed by debutant duo Jibi-Joju.

2021-present

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Aashirvad Cinemas produced the sequel to ''Drishyam'', ''Drishyam 2'', which was the first film in Mohanlal's career to premiere on an OTT platform Amazon Prime Video instead of the normal theatrical release. The film received widespread positive reviews. Then the company produced Telugu film titled ''Drushyam 2'' (co-produced by Suresh Productions and RajKumar Theatres), which was a remake of ''Drishyam 2'' also premiered on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video instead of the theatrical release. Then the company produced '' Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham'' (co-produced by Moonshot Entertainments and Confident Group), an action period film directed by Priyadarshan based on the life of Kunjali Marakkar. It is the most expensive Malayalam film ever, with a budget of ₹100 crores. The film released on 2 December 2021 and met with negative reviews and became a Box-office failure. In 2022, the company produced three films, out of which two films, '' Bro Daddy'' directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and '' 12th Man'' directed by Jeethu Joseph had Direct OTT release on Disney+ Hotstar. Both films received generally positive reviews. Then they produced ''Monster'' directed by Vysakh and the film was Mohanlal's second collaboration with Vysakh (as director) after ''Pulimurugan'' which received negative reviews and was a Box-office failure. In 2023, the company produced '' Alone'' directed by Shaji Kailas. The film received mixed to positive reviews but was a Box-office failure mainly because the film was originally filmed for OTT. In the same year, the company produced the court room drama film '' Neru'' directed by Jeethu Joseph and received highly positive response and became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time by grossing ₹100 crore worldwide. In 2024, Mohanlal's debut directorial ''Barroz'' received mostly mixed-to-negative reviews, and emerged as a box-office bomb. In 2025, the sequel to ''Lucifer'', titled '' L2: Empuraan'', which has also been co-produced by Lyca Productions and Sree Gokulam Movies was released and it grossed over 265 crores and emerged as the highest grossing Malayalam film ever .

Filmography

Accolades

Following are the accolades won by ''Aashirvad Cinemas''. The awards received by the producer alone is included in this list.

See also

* Pranavam Arts
* Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments

References

Notes

External links

Aashirvad Cineplexx Theatre

{{Authority control

Mohanlal
Film production companies of Kerala
Indian companies established in 2000
2000 establishments in Kerala
Mass media companies established in 2000
Companies based in Kochi