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Viswanathan Ravichandran (also known as Venu Ravichandran) is an Indian film producer and film distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films Pvt. Ltd, previously known as Oscar Films. Ravichandran started his venture in 1998 with the co-production of Kadhalukku Mariyadhai. He went on to produce many large-scale Tamil language films and distribute a number of English films across South India.

Early life

He was born in Vellore and completed his graduation from Voorhees College, Vellore. His brothers own smaller production companies, Celebrity Pictures and Viswas Pictures. He started distributing films since he was 16 years old as he was the son of a leading distributor in Vellore.

Career

Prior to making his name as a film producer, Ravichandran had been a leading film distributor in Tamil cinema since the late 1970s and gained attention through the distribution of Jackie Chan films across Tamil Nadu. Ravichandran made his debut as a producer in cinema through Fazil's romantic drama film Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), which he co-produced with Sangili Murugan. Though Fazil offered him the opportunity to produce the Malayalam version of the film first, Ravichandran refused because he wanted his first venture to be in Tamil. The film went on to become one of the most successful films of the year, while his second venture, Vikraman's family drama Vaanathaippola (2000), received similar commercial success. His third and fourth films, Ezhil's family drama Poovellam Un Vasam (2001) and Sasi's romantic film Roja Koottam (2002), were also highly profitable ventures.

In 2012, Ravichandran and director Shankar began work on the romantic thriller film, I (2015), featuring Vikram in the lead role. En route to becoming one of the most expensive Tamil films of all time, I took three years to complete, with over ten thousand people involved in the making of the film. The team also subsequently held a grand audio launch event with Arnold Schwarzenegger being brought in as chief guest for the event, and I released shortly after, becoming a profitable venture.

In the media

Ravichandran actively avoids being photographed and prefers to remain incognito at the promotional events of his films. In an interview with Behindwoods.com, he revealed that there were no photographers at his wedding and that in family photos, only his wife would appear with his children.

Filmography

Production

Distribution

References

1. "'The snob factor's gone'". telegraphindia.com. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
2. Viswanathan Ravichandran corporate information - http://corporatedir.com/officer/02175468 Archived 30 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Profile at Corporate Directory
3. Company Wiki - AASCAR FILM PRIVATE LIMITED - . List of Directors and Company Registration info at Company Wiki
4. cinemania (4 July 2021). "The shifting power dynamics in the Tamil film industry in the last two decades". CINEMANIA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
5. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". 23 August 2004. Archived from the original on 23 August 2004. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. ^ "An interview with the producer of 'I', Aascar Films Ravichandran". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
7. "Arnold Schwarzenegger: 'I' event one of the best I have seen". 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

• Film producers from Chennai
• Tamil film producers
• Living people
• People from Vellore
• Producers who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award
• Voorhees University