Aashirvad Cinemas

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. In 2025, the sequel to Lucifer, titled L2: Empuraan, which has also been co-produced by Lyca Productions and Sree Gokulam Movies was released and it grossed over 265 crores and emerged as the highest grossing Malayalam film ever .

Filmography

Accolades

Following are the accolades won by Aashirvad Cinemas. The awards received by the producer alone is included in this list.

References

Notes

References

1. "About Aashirvad Cinemas".
2. Ayyappan, R. (1 January 2000). "Movies: Sleaze time, folks!". rediff.com.
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5. "Kerala State Film Awards 1969-2012".
6. (29 September 2004). "Onam - The final report card!". Sify.com.
7. (17 September 2005). "'Naran' — The clear winner!". Sify.com.
8. (10 May 2009). "Kerala Box Office (April 2009)". webcitation.org.
9. The New Indian Express. (10 May 2009). "Kerala Box Office (April 2009)". [[The New Indian Express]].
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12. (1 September 2023). "King of Kotha to Odiyan, 6 Malayalam movies that defied negative reviews to sweep the box office".
13. (28 October 2022). "'Monster' box office collection day 6: Mohanlal starrer turns out to be a disaster".
14. (2023-02-02). "'Alone' box office collection: Mohanlal starrer mints less than Rs 1 crore". The Times of India.
15. (2023-09-19). "Mohanlal's 'Neru' film shoot to wrap up soon". The Times of India.
16. (3 January 2024). "'പ്രേമ'വും വീണു, മുന്നില്‍ 'കുറുപ്പ്'; എക്കാലത്തെയും വിജയങ്ങളില്‍ എട്ടാം സ്ഥാനത്തേക്ക് നേര്".
17. (2024-01-15). "Mohanlal-Jeethu Joseph's film 'Neru' crosses Rs 100 crore". The Times of India.
18. (30 December 2024). "Barroz budget revealed! Mohanlal's directorial debut is Malayalam cinema's costliest project and biggest flop?". OTTPlay.
19. (3 January 2024). "L2 Empuraan Final Kerala Box Office: Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran's actioner set to wrap theatrical run at Rs 87 crore".
20. James, Anu. (2014-12-06). "Mohanlal-Mammootty Starrer 'Narasimham': 15th Anniversary Celebration in Dubai Gets Grand Response [PHOTOS]".
21. James, Anu. (6 December 2014). "Premam is in the air". International Business Times.
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24. "Mohanlal's Ladies and Gentleman makes Rs 1.5 crore profit before release".
25. Bhaskaran, Gautaman. (9 January 2014). "Mohanlal's aam aadmi is a surprise hit in Drishyam". Hindustan Times.
26. (20 January 2014). "Balachander lauds Drishyam, salutes Mohanlal".
27. (3 February 2014). "'Drishyam' celebrates 50 days, strikes gold at box-office". [[Indo-Asian News Service.
28. Team, DNA Web. (2016-03-01). "Kerala film awards: 'Premam' snubbed says audience".
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32. "Star scions".
33. George, Anubha. "In Malayalam film 'Odiyan', Mohanlal plays a shapeshifting superhero".
34. "Empuraan to follow Mohanlal's directorial debut".
35. Narayanan, Nirmal. (2019-10-01). "Why remaking Lucifer with Chiranjeevi in Telugu is a bad idea?".
36. (2019-06-04). "Mohanlal's Lucifer storms into ₹200 crore club, first for Malayalam cinema".
37. Vilayil, Dhanya K.. (8 September 2019). "Ittymaani Made in China Review: ഉത്സവാഘോഷ ചിത്രം: 'ഇട്ടിമാണി മെയ്ഡ് ഇന്‍ ചൈന' റിവ്യൂ". [[Indian Express Malayalam]].
38. Praveen, S. r. (2019-09-07). "'Ittymaani: Made in China' review: This Mohanlal-starrer is a celebration of the formulaic". The Hindu.
39. (21 September 2020). "'Drishyam 2' shooting begins, actor Mohanlal shares pictures".
40. (2018-11-21). "Priyadarshan: Thugs of Hindostan was fantasy, Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham is steeped in history".
41. (2021-04-27). "'Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simham' release postponed; the Mohanlal starrer will hit the screens on THIS day".
42. "'Bro Daddy' teaser looks interesting!".
43. "Mohanlal, Unni Mukundan, and other M-Town celebs share heartfelt birthday wishes for Jeethu Joseph".
44. "Mohanlal is 'Suspect 4' in Jeethu Joseph's '12th Man'".
45. "അടച്ചിട്ടൊരു മുറിയിലെ ത്രില്ലർ; ട്വൽത് മാൻ റിവ്യു".
46. "Mohanlal announces new film named 'Monster', unveils first look of Vysakh-directorial".
47. "Director Vysakh: Mohanlal starrer 'Monster' is an edge-of-the-seat thriller".
48. (2022-11-21). "Bollywood remake of 'Drishyam 2' garners Rs 60 crores in 3 days".
49. "Mohanlal-Shaji Kailas' new film titled Alone".
50. (2023-08-12). "Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph team up for 'Neru'; here's the first look poster". The Times of India.
51. "'Ponniyin Selvan', 'Project K', 'Adipurush', 'Brahmastra', and 'Captain Miller', Ten massive budget Indian films coming soon to theatres". The Times of India.
52. "Mohanlal's directorial debut 'Barroz' to start filming from March 15th".
53. (2023-10-03). "Lyca Productions Makes An Entry Into Malayalam Cinema With Mohanlal's 'L2: Empuraan'".
54. (2025-10-09). "'Hridayapoorvam' box office collection update: Is the Mohanlal-starrer a HIT or FLOP?".
55. (2025-02-10). "Mohanlal-starrer Hridayapoorvam: Sathyan Anthikad and actor reunite after 9 years, shooting begins".
56. (2023-10-03). "Lyca Productions Makes An Entry Into Malayalam Cinema With Mohanlal's 'L2: Empuraan'".
57. (2020-10-17). "Film Critics Awards Complete List From 1977 Till 2012".