Aashirvad Cinemas
Introduction '''Aashirvad Cinemas''' is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2000 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) and ''Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham'' (₹100 crore).
History Aashirvad Cinemas was founded by Mohanlal's former chauffeur Antony Perumbavoor in 2000.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.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 ₹200 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. During the 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. 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.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''. 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.Aashirvad Cinemas' next project is Mohanlal's debut directorial Barroz: Guardian of D'Gama's Treasure, which completed shooting and pre-production works. The film is expected to be released in 2024.The project they will be doing afterwards will be the sequel to the 2019 film ''Lucifer'' called ''L2:Empuraan''. The film will be co-producing by Lyca Productions.
Filmography Title Year  Director  Budget  Worldwide gross  Other notes ''Narasimham''  2000  Shaji Kailas    The film was Jagathy Sreekumar's 1000th film. ''Ravanaprabhu''  2001  Ranjith    The film is noted director Ranjith's directorial debut. The film is a sequel to the 1993 film ''Devaasuram''. ''Kilichundan Mampazham''  2003  Priyadarshan    ''Natturajavu''  2004  Shaji Kailas     The film was a commercial success at the box office. It was the winner among the Onam releases that year. ''Naran''  2005  Joshiy     The film was a commercial success at the box office. It was the winner among the Onam releases that year. ''Rasathanthram''  2006  Sathyan Anthikkad    The film was a commercial success at the box office. It was the winner among the Vishu releases that year. Mohanlal and Sathyan Anthikkad collaborate after 12 years gap since ''Pingami''. ''Baba Kalyani''  2006  Shaji Kailas    ''Ali Bhai''  2007  Shaji Kailas    ''Paradesi''  2007  P. T. Kunju Muhammed    Mohanlal got Kerala State Film Awards For Best Actor ''Innathe Chintha Vishayam''  2008  Sathyan Anthikkad    ''Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded''  2009  Amal Neerad    Sequel to ''Irupatham Noottandu'' ''Evidam Swargamanu''  2009  Rosshan Andrrews    Won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. ''China Town''  2011  Rafi Mecartin    Multi-star film with Mohanlal, Dileep and Jayaram in lead roles. The film was a blockbuster. It was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. ''Snehaveedu''  2011  Sathyan Anthikkad    The film was Mohanlal's 300th movie ''Casanovva''  2012  Roshan Andrews    Associate production with Confident Group ''Spirit''  2012  Ranjith    ''Ladies and Gentleman''  2013  Siddique     Associate production with Confident Group ''Drishyam''  2013  Jeethu Joseph   - Became Industry hit by breaking collections of previous IH ''Twenty-20'' and became Highest-grossing Malayalam film at the time of release. It was also the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the yearRemade into 7 Languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sinhalese, Chinese & Indonesian becoming the fourth Malayalam film to be remade into 6 languages after ''Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal,'' ''Kireedam'' and ''Shutter. ''The first Indian film to be remade in Chinese and Indonesian. ''Ennum Eppozhum''  2015  Sathyan Anthikad    ''Loham''  2015  Ranjith    ''Oppam''  2016  Priyadarshan    The film was the second highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year after ''Pulimurugan'' ''Velipadinte Pusthakam''  2017  Lal Jose    -   The film is Mohanlal's first collaboration with Lal Jose. The film was a commercial success. ''Aadhi''  2018  Jeethu Joseph     One of the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. Pranav Mohanlal's debut as an adult lead actor. Mohanlal did a cameo role. The film was a commercial success. This is the only Aashirvad cinema production that does not feature Mohanlal in the lead role. ''Odiyan''  2018  V. A. Shrikumar Menon     The film is V. A. Shrikumar Menon's directorial debut. Mohanlal and Prakash Raj acted together in ''Odiyan'' after having a 19-year gap since the 1997 Tamil film ''Iruvar''. ''Lucifer''  2019  Prithviraj Sukumaran  The film is the Highest-grossing Malayalam film. It broke many box-office records like crossing ₹50 crore mark in 4 days, ₹100 crore mark in 8 days and ₹150 crores in 21 days and becoming the first Malayalam film to enter 200 crore Club and the first Malayalam film to gross over ₹50 crores in overseas box office.The film was actor Prithviraj Sukumaran's directorial debut. The film was also Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi's Malayalam debut. ''Ittymaani: Made in China''  2019  Jibi–Joju    The film was the directorial debut of Jibi-Joju. ''Drishyam 2''  2021  Jeethu Joseph    The sequel of ''Drishyam.'' The film was directlly released on Amazon Prime Video''.'' ''Drushyam 2''  2021  Jeethu Joseph    Telugu film. Remake of ''Drishyam 2''. The film was directly released on Amazon Prime Video ''Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham''  2021  Priyadarshan     The film is the most expensive Malayalam film made with a budget of 100 crore. The film was co-produced by Moonshot Entertainments and Confident Group. ''Bro Daddy''  2022  Prithviraj Sukumaran    The film was directly released on Disney+ Hotstar. ''12th Man''  2022  Jeethu Joseph    The film was directly released on Disney+ Hotstar. ''Monster''  2022 Vysakh    The film is Mohanlal's second collaboration with Vysakh(as director) after Pulimurugan. ''Alone''  2023  Shaji Kailas     ''Neru''  2023  Jeethu Joseph        2024  Mohanlal    The film is Mohanlal's directorial debut. 2024  Prithviraj Sukumaran    The sequel of ''Lucifer.'' The film is co-produced by Lyca Productions.
Accolades Following are the accolades won by ''Aashirvad Cinemas''. The awards received by the producer alone is included in this list.AwardYearCategoryFilmResultNational Film Awards2012Best Film on Other Social Issues''Spirit''2019Best Feature Film''Marakkar''Kerala State Film Awards2001Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value''Raavanaprabhu''2008''Innathe Chintha Vishayam''2009''Evidam Swargamanu''2013''Drishyam''Kerala Film Critics Association Awards2009Best Film''Evidam Swargamanu''2013''Drishyam''2016''Oppam''Filmfare Awards South2008Best Film – Malayalam''Innathe Chintha Vishayam''2009''Evidam Swargamanu''2013''Drishyam''2016''Oppam''South Indian International Movie Awards2012Best Film – Malayalam''Spirit''2013''Drishyam''2016''Oppam''2019''Lucifer''Asiavision Awards2013Best Popular Movie''Drishyam''2016Outstanding Movie of the Year''Oppam''Vanitha Film Awards2013Best Film''Drishyam''2019Most Popular Film''Lucifer''Asianet Film Awards2000Best Film''Narasimham''2012Most Popular Film''Spirit''2013Best Film''Drishyam''2013Most Popular Film''Drishyam''2016Best Film''Oppam''Jaihind TV Awards2007Best Film''Paradesi''2013DrishyamKairali TV – World Malayali Council Film Award2009Best Film''Evidam Swargamanu''
See also * Pranavam Arts* Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments
References
External links *  Aashirvad Cineplexx Theatre