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By:
Amalan
"Strive towards your goal and achieve it." These magic words of AVM Chettiar created magic in his own life.
The centenary of AV Meyyappa Chettiar of AVM Studios, undoubtedly an integral part of Tamil cinema, falls on the 28th of July. So it is apt that one gets to know what made this great personality.
He was born on July 28, 1907 to Avichi Chettiar and Lakshmi Aachi at Karaikudi. Nagarathar Chettiars were usually engaged in money lending business. But even in those days, Avichi Chettiar ran a general store AV and Sons. When his father's health suffered, AVM had to take over running of the shop. So he had to terminate his education after completing ninth class. That did not mean he stopped studying. He would read the Hindu paper and look up words he did not understand in the dictionary and thus widened his knowledge of English. At the age of 22, he took up agency for Ford cars.
When AVM came to Chennai to buy some records, an idea struck him. Why not manufacture and sell instead of buying and selling. He started Saraswathi Stores on September 9, 1932 and produced and distributed many records.
As a take off from that, he went to Kolkata to produce films. He made 'Alli Arjuna' (1935), 'Rathnavali' (Nov 7, 1936) and 'Nanda Kumar' (July 6, 1938). All three films flopped.
He was not defeated by the failure. Instead he tried to find out the reasons for the failure. In 1940, he started Pragati Studios with partners in Chennai. 'Boo Kailash' (May 31, 1941), 'Sabapathy' (Jan 9, 1942), 'En Manaivi' (June 7, 1942), 'Harichandra' (June 4, 1943), 'Sri Valli' (April 14, 1945) were produced by him. 'Harichandra' was made in Kannada. He had it dubbed in Tamil. This was the first dubbed film in India.
In 'Nanda Kumar,' TP Rajalakshmi, who did the role of Devaki, could not sing properly, so he made Lalitha Venkatraman sing and Rajalakshmi lip sync to it. In this way AVM introduced playback singing in films. In 'Sri Valli' he made PA Periyanayaki sing to Rukmini's song and did post synchronisation.
In 1945, he started his own AVM Productions at 60, South St in Santhome at Chennai. Since electricity was not easy to come by in Chennai, he started AVM Studios at Karaikudi in 1946 by putting up thatched huts. The first film made there was 'Naam Iruvar' (Jan 14, 1947) that kindled feelings of patriotism. He brought the patriotic lyrics of Subramania Bharathi to the masses through this film.
AVM bought the rights to Bharathi's songs at Rs.10,000. On the request of the then chief minister Omandur Ramasamy Reddiar, he dedicated Bharathi's songs to the nation.
His next film 'Vedaala Ulagam' (Aug 8, 1948) was full of magical episodes. At a time when no facilities were available to bring about magic effects, he created them just through the camera.
In 1948, he shifted AVM Studios to Kodambakkam in Chennai and it flourishes there to this day. The first film he made there was 'Vazhkai' (Dec 22, 1949). Vyjayanthimala made her debut in this film. AVM introduced the latest techniques and developments in his studio and made it the best studio in all of Asia. Films were made in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Sinhalese and Bengali.
AVM films not only ran well, they also had relevant social messages. His Hindi film 'Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke' (Aug 8, 1957) about brotherhood of man and universal religion was made specially for children. It won the national award for best film. In appreciation for having made this film, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited AVM to his house.
It is interesting to note that 5 people who worked in AVM went on to become chief ministers.
Arignar Anna ('Or Iravu' – Apr 11, 1951)
Kalaignar M Karunanidhi - ('Parasakthi – Oct 17, 1952)
Puratchi Thalaivar MGR - ('Anbe Vaa' – Jan 14, 1966)
Selvi Jayalalitha - ('Major Chandrakanth' – Nov 11, 1966) and so on
N T Rama Rao - ('Sangam' – July 10, 1954), ('Boo Kailash' – March 20, 1958), ('Ramu' – May 4, 1968), ('Chitti Chellalu' – July 29, 1970)
Vyjayanthimala, Nadigar Thilakam Sivaji Ganesan, Kamalahasan, VK Ramasamy, TR Mahalingam, Sivakumar are some of the stars introduced by AVM. Similarly many directors and technicians were created at AVM. AVM Studios is like a university to the film world.
Though he was close to many politicians, AVM never associated himself with any political party. He was firm that politics did not mix well with businessmen like him.
He was very interested in music and literature. He was vice-president of Kamban Kazhagam. Every year, he gave his AVM Rajeswari Mandapam to conduct the annual Kamban celebrations. What he started continues till today as per his wishes.
There are 3 generations of employees working at AVM. To help them, he has given land to build houses and arranged for housing loans, insurance facilities, built Avichi school for their children, hospital and marriage hall.
His motto was to always do everything right. He was famous for his time management.
Never postpone until tomorrow what you can do today. He was always very clear about any work and when it should be completed and in how many days. That was the secret of his success.
If he did not like any scenes, he would ask for them to be re-shot. He was not bothered with expenses. For him, quality was more important than quantity. He knew every aspect of film making. Production, direction, distribution, returns, release in theatres,publicity... everything was at his finger tips. He had phenomenal memory power.
He was not a person to hide under false pretense. If he did not like something or someone, he was open about it. He was equally frank in his appreciation. He was always ready to take good advice and opinions. He showed people how to walk tall in society.
He was all for spending but not for wasting. When he was in hospital, he saw the light burning in the bathroom and asked his son Saravanan to turn it off. That was what he spoke last on Aug 12, 1979. Even nearing his end, he was so principled that he did not want another's money to be wasted.
One day in a fit of emotion, AVM told his sons, "The AVM Productions emblem is not only our company emblem, it marks 50 years of my hard work in the industry." Accordingly, his sons always feature AVM"s face and then the AVM emblem in every one of their films and TV serials.
The only studio in India that is still going strong even after 60 years is AVM. It is one of the 5 studios in the world that exist even after 60 years. AVM's 167th film was the recent Ajith film 'Thirupathi.' Its 168th film is the blockbuster 'Sivaji' featuring Rajinikanth and directed by Shankar.
On January 21, 2006 the Indian govt released a stamp commemorating Avichi (Av.) Meiyappan marking the sixtieth anniversary of AVM Studios. The centenary celebrations of AVM start from July 28, 2006.
AV Meyyappa Chettiar took bold steps, made innovations, made quality films, built an empire and became a legend of Tamil cinema. For those who aspire to emulate him, he is a worthy example to look up to.
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-27.07.2006
