Veteran producer AVM Saravanan passes away
Chennai (PTI): Veteran producer and owner of iconic AVM Studios, M Saravanan, died in Chennai due to age-related ailments on Thursday, sources said.
He was 86.
According to sources, Saravanan had been suffering from health issues for a few years and was undergoing treatment intermittently.
Popularly known as AVM Saravanan, the legendary producer took over the studio established by his father A V Meiyappan in 1946 after his death in 1979.
Under his stewardship, AVM continued as a major production house and diversified its work across Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and other language films.
Saravanan, along with his brother M Balasubramanian, played a key role in shaping commercial Tamil cinema since 1950s.
Particularly, his films 'Naanum Oru Penn' (1963) and 'Samsaram Adhu Minsaram' (1986), won him several accolades and were known for pushing the boundaries of commercial cinema.
When AVM Productions reentered into Tamil cinema after a long sabbatical post Meiyappan’s death, the brothers bet on actor Rajinikanth, starring him opposite Rati Agnihotri in 'Murattu Kaalai' in 1980. It was Rajnikanth’s first film for the banner. Not only it became the highest grossing Tamil film at the time of its release, it was also instrumental in establishing Rajinikanth as both an action hero and superstar.
Incidentally, actor Kamal Haasan, began his career with an AVM-backed film. He debuted as a child actor with 'Kalathur Kannamma' in 1960, produced by AVM. The film won the budding actor the President’s Gold medal (National Award for Best Child Actor).
While maintaining the AVM Studios in Chennai as a key shooting hub, Saravanan steered the iconic banner through the times, getting into television serials and newer media formats.
Saravanan also served as Sheriff of Madras in 1986, reflecting his stature beyond cinema.
He is survived by his son, M S Guhan, who is also a film producer.
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Jai Bhim: Slogan that energised Dalits was first given at this central Maharashtra village
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.
The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.
Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.
Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.
"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.
"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.
As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.
The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.
"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.
"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.
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