1. Aashirvad Cinemas (AVD)
Founded by Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor, it is one of the leading production companies in Kerala. They started the company with the Mohanlal film ‘
Narasimham
’ directed by
Shaji Kailas
. It became a top hit of the year, running for 200 days in the theaters. Ravanaprabhu, Kilichundan Mampazham, Naran, and Rasathanthram are some of their early ventures. They also produced the 2012 National Award winning movie Spirit. Recently, they created the picture ‘
Drishyam
’, which made a record collection of 75 crores at the box-office. The Film Distribution Company Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments is a branch of Aashirvad Cinemas.
2. Grand Productions
Founded in 2003 by actor Dileep and his brother Anoop, Grand Production is one of the successful production companies in Kerala. They started with the film ‘C. I. D Moosa’ which became a blockbuster at the box-office. They had produced a couple of successful movies like ‘Kathavasheshan’, ‘Pandippada’, ‘
Runway
’, and ‘Malarvadi Arts Club’. The 2008 picture ‘Twenty Twenty’ marked a milestone in the history of Grand Productions. It starred all the leading Malayalam actors who have membership in AMMA. This film made at a budget of 7 crores collected more than 35 crores from the theaters.
It is founded by the well-known director Anwar Rasheed. Their first project ‘
Bangalore Days
’ directed by
Anjali Menon
became a chartbuster at the box-office, collecting about 50 crores. It also won numerous accolades and positive reviews. The second venture of ARE was the movie ‘
Premam
’ directed by Alphonse Putharen. It too became a top-grossing hit of the year with a profit of more than 50 crores. Anwar Rasheed has also announced their next project as Parava, written and directed by
Soubin Shahir
.
4. Friday Film House
It is a leading and profit-making production and distribution company based in Kerala. Founded by
Vijay Babu
and , it has produced a couple of hit Malayalam films. They started with the picture ‘Friday’ in the year 2012, followed by
Zachariyayude Garbhinikal
, Philips and the Monkey Pen, Peruchazhy, and Aadu. Their recent releases like Adi Kapyare Koottamani and Mudhugauv also made a commendable profit.
Maniyanpilla Raju is a renowned actor and producer in Malayalam industry. He has produced many movies under the banner of Maniyanpilla Raju Productions. Hello My Dear Wrong Number,
Vellanakalude Naadu
, and Aye Auto are some of his early ventures. All these pictures became super hits and gained him the name of a good producer. Chotta Mumbai, Anandabhadram, and
Oru Naal Varum
are some other successful ventures of him. The recently released film under this banner is Pavada, starring Prithviraj and
Anoop Menon
. It bagged a huge commercial success and critical acclaim.
6. Lumiere Film Company
This production company is owned by the actors Mukesh and Sreenivasan. It has produced two super hit films in Malayalam. Their first venture, Katha Parayumbol, starring Sreenivasan, Meena, and Mukesh, became a blockbuster at the box-office and completed 150 days in the theaters. Their next movie
Thattathin Marayathu
also got grand reception at the theaters. Directed by
Vineeth Sreenivasan
, this picture collected nearly 20 crores.
7. August Cinemas
This production and distribution company got established in 2010 as a result of the combined effort of three people- the actor Prithviraj, Santhosh Sivan, a cinematographer, and
Shaji Nadesan
, an entrepreneur. Their first film ‘Urumi’ won a huge success at the box-office. The next movie ‘
Indian Rupee
’ received a National Award in the year 2011. Manjadikkuru,
Bachelor Party
, Sapthamasree Thaskara, Iyobinte Pustakam,
Double Barrel
, and Darvinte Parinama’ are some of their successful ventures.
8. Playhouse Release
The megastar Mammootty along with
Anto Joseph
has started the production company Playhouse Release in the year 2009. In the beginning, they produced a couple of films like ‘
Kana Kanmani
’, ‘Neelathamara’, and ‘Rithu’. It also has the movies like ‘Chattambinaadu’, and the recently released ‘
Kasaba
’ to its credit.
9. Dharmik films
It is founded by S. Sajikumar with their first film ‘Bicycle Thieves’, starring Asif Ali and
Aparna Gopinath
. It has also produced the Shyamaprasad movie Ivide in the year 2015. Their recent venture is the film James and Alice directed by Sujith Vasudevan, starring Prithviraj and Vedhika in the lead roles. It still runs successfully in the theaters. All their attempts made a reasonable profit and good reviews.
10. Adams World of Imagination
It is a production company owned by the actor Asif Ali, named after his son Adam. Sajin Jaffer and Brijesh Muhammed are the partners of this company. Their first film ‘
Kohinoor