Eighty years of AVM. One new stage.

From Karaikudi to Vadapalani

AV. Meiyappan began making films in the 1930s and set up his studio during the Second World War, first in Karaikudi and then, from the late 1940s, on the grounds at Vadapalani on Arcot Road that AVM has occupied ever since. Over eight decades the studio has produced 178 feature films, 55 television serials and a web series across six languages, and has been recognised as one of only a handful of studios in the world to have worked without a break for more than fifty years.

AVM milestones

AVM's history is a list of firsts for Indian cinema, alongside the introduction of Sivaji Ganesan in Parasakthi (1952) and a young Kamal Haasan in Kalathur Kannamma (1960):

• 1938
  Nanda KumarThe first Tamil film to introduce playback singing.
• 1944
  HarischandraThe first Indian film to introduce dubbing.
• 1945
  Sri ValliIntroduced playback with post lip-synchronisation.
•  
  Mahakavi Bharathiyar's songsShri AV. Meiyappan magnanimously gifted the copyrights of all Mahakavi Bharathiyar's songs to the Nation.
• 1954
  Andha NaalThe first Tamil film without songs.
• 1957
  Hum Panchhi Ek Dal KeThe first Hindi film to win the Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Medal for best children's film.
• 1986
  Mella Thiranthathu KathavuThe first Tamil film to have music directors M.S. Viswanathan and Ilaiyaraaja compose music together.
• 1986
  Samsaram Athu MinsaramThe first Tamil film to win the President's Gold Medal for Wholesome Entertainment.
• 1989
  Raja Chinna RojaThe first Indian film to combine real actors with animation.
• 2007
  SivajiProduced on a budget and scale unprecedented for Tamil cinema.
• 2012
  Sivaji 3DThe first Indian film to use Dolby Atmos technology.

The stage becomes a venue

The convention centre was built on one of AVM's famous stages, the shooting floors where generations of stars were launched. It was designed as a thoughtful, practical space for the events Chennai actually holds: an air-conditioned hall for 750 with a raised stage, a 200-seat air-conditioned dining hall, two purpose-built kitchens (one strictly vegetarian, one non-vegetarian), two suites and twelve rooms, ample car parking, power backup and 24-hour CCTV, all inside the secured studio compound, behind a stepped art-deco façade that lights up like a picture palace after dark.

The AVM family today

AVM remains a family-run studio, led today by later generations of the Meiyappan family, who continue to produce films and series and who opened the AVM Heritage Museum, a celebration of the studio's archives and a collection of rare automobiles, to the public in May 2023. The convention centre continues that tradition of opening the lot to the city.

• 1945

  AV. Meiyappan founds AVM Studios, which goes on to become the oldest continuously working film studio in India.

• 1952

  Parasakthi introduces Sivaji Ganesan; a decade later Kalathur Kannamma introduces a young Kamal Haasan.

• 2007

  Sivaji: The Boss becomes the first Tamil film to enter the UK Top 10; in 2012 Sivaji 3D is India's first Dolby Atmos release.

• 2023

  The AVM Heritage Museum opens on the lot, inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; the convention centre follows, marking 80 years of AVM.