M Saravanan, the leading producer of Tamil cinema, whose gentle demeanour and industrious nature shaped many talents, passed away in Chennai on Thursday (December 4, 2025) due to age-related ailments. He died a day after his 86th birthday.
Saravanan was the son of famous director-producer AV Meiyappan, considered one of the pioneers of Tamil cinema, having set up the popular AVM Studios, one of the oldest surviving studios in the country and a Chennai landmark to this day.
Saravanan was best known for taking up the rich cinematic legacy that his father left behind. We can go on naming his superhits – like Uyarndha Ullam, Samsaram Adhu Minsaram, Murattu Kaalai, Minsara Kanavu, Gemini, Sivaji: The Boss and Ayan – but despite his illustrious achievements and working with the leading superstars of Tamil cinema, Saravanan remained a man of simplicity, a quality that endeared him across age groups.
At any film function, you could spot Saravanan dressed fully in white and with hands folded, irrespective of who he was talking with. This sense of humility was a quality that Saravanan imbibed from his father; in his own words to The Hindu, he once said, “All the success stories of filmmakers in those days had humble men at the helm – my father, SS Vasan and Nagi Reddy.”
Rajinikanth with AVM Saravanan, in a file photo in 2007
| Photo Credit:
VEDHAN M
Superstar Rajinikanth worked on more than half-a-dozen film projects closely with Saravanan’s AVM Productions; his Sivaji, directed by Shankar, is one of his biggest hits. In fact, Rajinikanth is said to have received only Rs 1,001 as an advance payment before embarking on Sivaji, an indication of his trust in the production house.
Kamal Haasan is a close associate of the AVM family till date, with the actor often describing how a large part of his childhood was spent on the sets there; his first film as a child artiste, Kalathur Kannama, was backed by them, as were several projects after he became a big star.
Also read: AVM, seven decades and still running
Many other Tamil stars including Suriya and Vikram had some of their biggest hits under the AVM Productions banner; films like Ayan and Gemini are considered landmark films in these stars’ careers.
The producer also shared a rapport with distributors in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere, because of how well his content performed. In the event a film did not perform as well as expected, Saravanan would personally call distributors and offset it in his next project, a quality that endeared him to many.
Saravanan had heartfelt conversations and wrote long letters, a quality that is a far cry from today’s fast-paced likes and comments world. In fact, when I wrote an article on Rajinikanth’s Raja Chinna Roja turning 30 in 2019 in The Hindu, a piece which explained the making of the first Tamil film to use animated characters with live actors, Saravanan wrote a long letter addressed to me. He was thrilled that we had chosen to celebrate this particular film, of which he had fond memories, not only because it had a kid-friendly song but also because we had highlighted how the AVM Studios were readied for such a track, during a time far before animation and AI.
ALSO READ: Inside the new AVM Heritage Museum in Chennai
Past forward
Under Saravanan, AVM Productions thrived, churning out hits. The physical studio space in Vadapalani, which has been their home for many years since their shift from Karaikudi, slowly became a landmark; not only has it served as the location for many popular films, it has also become an integral part of the city’s cultural fabric.
M Saravanan with Aruna Guhan and Aparna Guhan in a file photo from 2013
| Photo Credit:
N. RAMAKRISHNAN
People passing Vadapalani would fondly point to the “AVM globe” at the gate and speculate about the excitement indoors. Indeed, under Saravanan and later his son, MS Guhan, the studio came up with new offerings to keep up with the times. In 2022, they produced their first web-series, Tamil Rockerz, a project backed by Guhan’s daughters and AM Productions’ partners, Aruna Guhan and Aparna Guhan Shyam.
Going with its motto of keeping the past alive, the studio today also includes the AVM Heritage Museum, where cinema history comes alive. A collection of cars and bikes some of which have been used in films are on display here, along with equipment and machinery used in the cinema production business in the past, providing audiences with a rare insight into how films were made in the olden times.
Saravanan leaves behind a rich legacy, for his family and the film fraternity. More importantly, he leaves behind the motto that his production house followed for years: Muyarchi Thiruvinai Aakum (‘Perseverance leads to success’).
Published – December 04, 2025 12:11 pm IST
