# Aashirvad Cinemas

Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 1999 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with the distribution company Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments co-founded by Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor for distributing films. It is one among the most active and leading production houses in the Malayalam film industry.
Aashirvad Cinemas has established itself by producing several hits such as Narasimham (2000), Ravanaprabhu (2001), Naran (2005),Rasathanthram (2006), Drishyam (2013), Oppam (2016), Lucifer (2019) and Neru (2023). It has also produced three of the most expensive Malayalam films — Odiyan (2018), Lucifer (2019), and Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (2020) with Marakkar not being profitable ventures for the production house.
Aashirvad Cinemas has won several awards, including two National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards and a Filmfare Awards South. In 2019, Aashirvad Cinemas opened office in Hong Kong with the name Feitian Aashirvad Cinemas and signed an agreement with a Chinese film production company to co-produce and distribute films in China. Aashirvad Cinemas is the currently the biggest production company in Mollywood. It has made big budget films like Odiyan (₹30 crore), Lucifer (₹35 crore), Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (₹100 crore), and Barroz (₹150 crore).

## History
### 2000-2010

Aashirvad Cinemas was founded by Mohanlal's former chauffeur Antony Perumbavoor in 1999. Its first production was the 2000 film, Narasimham. The company's next was the 2001 action drama film, Raavanaprabhu, which was a sequel to the 1993 film, Devasuram. The film won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. Over the years, Aashrivad Cinemas have continued to receive great reception and success for their films and continue making new records. The action drama Natturajavu was the only release in 2004. It released coinciding with the festival of Onam and was the winner among the Onam releases. Joshiy-directed action drama Naran was the only release in 2005, which was the winner among the Onam releases of the year. In the following year, Sathyan Anthikkad-directed family drama Rasathanthram became a commercial success. Two films released in 2009, action film Sagar Alias Jackie Reloaded directed by Amal Neerad, a spiritual successor to Mohanlal's 1987 film Irupatham Noottandu. It had a good opening which did not sustain in the following weeks.

### 2010-2020

The 2011 comedy film China Town made ₹15.2 crore at the box office and was a major commercial success. The 2012 drama Spirit won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues. In 2013, family-thriller Drishyam received widespread critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing Malayalam and industry hit film and the first to gross over ₹50 crore mark at the box office. The 2016 crime thriller Oppam also became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time by grossing ₹65 crore worldwide. Mohanlal and Lal Jose collaborated for the first time in Velipadinte Pusthakam in 2017, which was a moderate success. In 2019, Prithviraj Sukumaran-directed action drama Lucifer grossed ₹128 crore worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film till date, beating Mohanlal's Pulimurugan. It was also the first Malayalam film to gross over ₹50 crores in overseas markets. It was followed by the comedy-drama Ittymaani: Made in China directed by debutant duo Jibi-Joju.

### 2021-present

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Aashirvad Cinemas produced the sequel to Drishyam, Drishyam 2, which was the first film in Mohanlal's career to premiere on an OTT platform Amazon Prime Video instead of the normal theatrical release. The film received widespread positive reviews. Then the company produced Telugu film titled Drushyam 2 (co-produced by Suresh Productions and RajKumar Theatres), which was a remake of Drishyam 2 also premiered on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video instead of the theatrical release. Then the company produced Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (co-produced by Moonshot Entertainments and Confident Group), an action period film directed by Priyadarshan based on the life of Kunjali Marakkar. It is the most expensive Malayalam film ever, with a budget of ₹100 crores. The film released on 2 December 2021 and met with negative reviews and became a Box-office failure. In 2022, the company produced three films, out of which two films, Bro Daddy directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and 12th Man directed by Jeethu Joseph had Direct OTT release on Disney+ Hotstar. Both films received generally positive reviews. Then they produced Monster directed by Vysakh and the film was Mohanlal's second collaboration with Vysakh (as director) after Pulimurugan which received negative reviews and was a Box-office failure. In 2023, the company produced Alone directed by Shaji Kailas. The film received mixed to positive reviews but was a Box-office failure mainly because the film was originally filmed for OTT. In the same year, the company produced the court room drama film Neru directed by Jeethu Joseph and received highly positive response and became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time by grossing ₹100 crore worldwide. In 2024, Mohanlal's debut directorial Barroz received mostly mixed-to-negative reviews, and emerged as a box-office bomb. The productions next venture is the sequel to Lucifer, titled L2: Empuraan, which has also been co-produced by Lyca Productions.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Title | Year | Director | Budget | Worldwide gross | Notes |
| Narasimham | 2000 | Shaji Kailas | ₹1.1 crore (US$130,000) | est.₹22 crore (US$2.5 million) | The film was a commercial success, and became the first Malayalam film to cross ₹20 crore. The film also marked the 1000th film of Jagathy Sreekumar. |
| Ravanaprabhu | 2001 | Ranjith | | ₹17 crore (US$1.9 million) | The film marked the directorial debut of screenwriter Ranjith. It is a sequel to the 1993 film Devaasuram. The film emerged as a commercial success and was the highest grossing Malayalam film of the year. |
| Kilichundan Mampazham | 2003 | Priyadarshan | | | |
| Natturajavu | 2004 | Shaji Kailas | ₹1.75 crore (US$200,000) | ₹2.27 crore (US$260,000) | |
| Naran | 2005 | Joshiy | ₹2.55 crore (US$290,000) | ₹2.70 crore (US$310,000) | |
| Rasathanthram | 2006 | Sathyan Anthikkad | ₹2.88 crore (US$330,000) | ₹22 crore (US$2.5 million) | The film marked the first collabration between Mohanlal and Sathyan Anthikad since Pingami. It was a commercial success at the box office. |
| Baba Kalyani | 2006 | Shaji Kailas | | | |
| Ali Bhai | 2007 | Shaji Kailas | | | |
| Paradesi | 2007 | P. T. Kunju Muhammed | | | Mohanlal won the Kerala State Film Awards For Best Actor for his performance in the film. |
| Innathe Chintha Vishayam | 2008 | Sathyan Anthikkad | | | |
| Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded | 2009 | Amal Neerad | | | Sequel to Irupatham Noottandu |
| Evidam Swargamanu | 2009 | Rosshan Andrrews | | | Won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. |
| China Town | 2011 | Rafi Mecartin | | | The film was declared a blockbuster at the box office and was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. |
| Snehaveedu | 2011 | Sathyan Anthikkad | | | The film marked the 300th film of Mohanlal. |
| Casanovva | 2012 | Roshan Andrews | | | The film was co-produced with Confident Group. |
| Spirit | 2012 | Ranjith | | | |
| Ladies and Gentleman | 2013 | Siddique | ₹10 crore (US$1.1 million) | | The film was co-produced with Confident Group. |
| Drishyam | 2013 | Jeethu Joseph | ₹3.5 crore (US$400,000) - ₹5 crore (US$570,000) | ₹75 crore (US$8.6 million) | The film became the highest-grossing Malayalam film at the time of its release. It was also the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. It has been remade into 7 Languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sinhalese, Chinese and Indonesian becoming the fourth Malayalam film to be remade into 6 languages after Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal, Kireedam and Shutter. It is also the first Indian film to be remade in Chinese and Indonesian. |
| Ennum Eppozhum | 2015 | Sathyan Anthikad | | | |
| Loham | 2015 | Ranjith | | | |
| Oppam | 2016 | Priyadarshan | ₹7 crore (US$800,000) | ₹65 crore (US$7.4 million) | The film was the second highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year after Pulimurugan. |
| Velipadinte Pusthakam | 2017 | Lal Jose | | ₹15 crore (US$1.7 million) - ₹20 crore (US$2.3 million) | The film marked Mohanlal's first collaboration with Lal Jose. |
| Aadhi | 2018 | Jeethu Joseph | | ₹50 crore (US$5.7 million) | The film was one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year. It marked Pranav Mohanlal's debut as an adult lead actor. It is the first and only production that does not feature Mohanlal in the lead role. |
| Odiyan | 2018 | V. A. Shrikumar Menon | ₹35 crore (US$4.0 million) | | The film marked V. A. Shrikumar Menon's directorial debut. It is the first to feature Mohanlal and Prakash Raj together since the 1997 Tamil film Iruvar. |
| Lucifer | 2019 | Prithviraj Sukumaran | ₹30 crore (US$3.4 million) | ₹200 crore (US$23 million) | It is currently the highest-gorssing Malayalam film of all time, and was also the first Malayalam to earn more than ₹200 crores. It also earned ₹50 crore overseas. The film marked the directorial debut of actor Prithviraj Sukumaran. |
| Ittymaani: Made in China | 2019 | Jibi–Joju | | | The film marked the directorial debut of Jibi-Joju. |
| Drishyam 2 | 2021 | Jeethu Joseph | | | A sequel to Drishyam. The film was directly released on Amazon Prime Video. |
| Drushyam 2 | 2021 | Jeethu Joseph | | | The first Telugu film produced by the company and a remake of Drishyam 2. It was co-produced with Suresh Productions and Rajkumar Theatres Pvt. Ltd. |
| Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham | 2021 | Priyadarshan | ₹100 crore (US$11 million) | | The film is the most expensive Malayalam film made on a budget of ₹100 crore. It was co-produced with Moonshot Entertainments and Confident Group. |
| Bro Daddy | 2022 | Prithviraj Sukumaran | | | The film was directly released on Disney+ Hotstar. |
| 12th Man | 2022 | Jeethu Joseph | | | The film was directly released on Disney+ Hotstar. |
| Monster | 2022 | Vysakh | | | The film marked Mohanlal's second collaboration with Vysakhas a director after Pulimurugan. |
| Alone | 2023 | Shaji Kailas | | ₹0.75 crore (US$86,000) | The film featured Mohanlal only in an on-screen role. |
| Neru | 2023 | Jeethu Joseph | ₹10 crore (US$1.1 million) | ₹80 crore (US$9.2 million) | |
| Barroz | 2024 | Mohanlal | | | The film marked the directorial debut of Mohanlal. |
| L2: Empuraan † | 2025 | Prithviraj Sukumaran | | | The film is a sequel to Lucifer. It is co-produced with Lyca Productions and Sree Gokulam Movies. |

## Accolades

Following are the accolades won by Aashirvad Cinemas. The awards received by the producer alone is included in this list.
| Award | Year | Category | Film | Result |
| National Film Awards | 2012 | Best Film on Other Social Issues | Spirit | Won |
| National Film Awards | 2019 | Best Feature Film | Marakkar | Won |
| Kerala State Film Awards | 2001 | Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value | Raavanaprabhu | Won |
| Kerala State Film Awards | 2008 | Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value | Innathe Chintha Vishayam | Won |
| Kerala State Film Awards | 2009 | Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value | Evidam Swargamanu | Won |
| Kerala State Film Awards | 2013 | Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value | Drishyam | Won |
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | 2009 | Best Film | Evidam Swargamanu | Won |
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | 2013 | Best Film | Drishyam | Won |
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | 2016 | Best Film | Oppam | Won |
| Filmfare Awards South | 2008 | Best Film – Malayalam | Innathe Chintha Vishayam | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards South | 2009 | Best Film – Malayalam | Evidam Swargamanu | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards South | 2013 | Best Film – Malayalam | Drishyam | Won |
| Filmfare Awards South | 2016 | Best Film – Malayalam | Oppam | Nominated |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 2012 | Best Film – Malayalam | Spirit | Nominated |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 2013 | Best Film – Malayalam | Drishyam | Won |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 2016 | Best Film – Malayalam | Oppam | Nominated |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 2019 | Best Film – Malayalam | Lucifer | Won |
| Asiavision Awards | 2013 | Best Popular Movie | Drishyam | Won |
| Asiavision Awards | 2016 | Outstanding Movie of the Year | Oppam | Won |
| Vanitha Film Awards | 2013 | Best Film | Drishyam | Won |
| Vanitha Film Awards | 2019 | Most Popular Film | Lucifer | Won |
| Asianet Film Awards | 2000 | Best Film | Narasimham | Won |
| Asianet Film Awards | 2012 | Most Popular Film | Spirit | Won |
| Asianet Film Awards | 2013 | Best Film | Drishyam | Won |
| Asianet Film Awards | 2013 | Most Popular Film | Drishyam | Won |
| Asianet Film Awards | 2016 | Best Film | Oppam | Won |
| Jaihind TV Awards | 2007 | Best Film | Paradesi | Won |
| Jaihind TV Awards | 2013 | Best Film | Drishyam | Won |
| Kairali TV – World Malayali Council Film Award | 2009 | Best Film | Evidam Swargamanu | Won |