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GV Films is an Indian film production and distribution company headed by Ishari K. Ganesh. The firm had been a leading production studio in the Tamil film industry in the 1990s and had been founded by G. Venkateswaran as Sujatha Films in 1986.

History

Film industry

Sujatha Films was set up in 1986 by G. Venkateswaran, a chartered accountant, as a film production and distribution company. Operating as a family production house, Venkateswaran's brother Mani Ratnam also often assisted on the production work of films that he directed for the studio. Sujatha Films became GV Films as it became the first publicly listed company from the Indian media industry in 1989.

The early films by the studio saw frequent collaborations with Mani Ratnam and Visu, as well as with composer A. R. Rahman. Films including Anjali and Thalapathi were among the studio's most notable films.

GV Films produced Suhasini Maniratnam's first film Indira (1995) featuring Anu Hasan and Arvind Swamy in the lead roles. The film did not perform well at the box office, prompting GV Films to stop production and prioritise distribution ventures. However, some distribution ventures including Aalavandhan (2001) and Baba (2002) were also expensive failures.

GV Films made a return to production in the early 2000s, first working on the making of Thamizhan (2002) directed by debutant Majith. The film featured Vijay and Priyanka Chopra in her first acting role. Further films that the studio worked on included Vasanth's Yai! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke! (2002) and K. Bhagyaraj's Chokka Thangam (2003) with Vijayakanth. All three films did not perform well commercially. Subsequently, Venkateswaran came under pressure from film financiers. In April 2003, Venkateswaran committed suicide at his residence in Chennai.

Following Venkateswaran's death, the studio continued to produce media content under the same name. Notably, actress Manisha Koirala was briefly a board member as the studio attempted to make a comeback through Hindi film content and 3D television serials. The studio launched a big budget Hindi film directed by Mahesh Manjrekar starring Sanjay Dutt in late 2005, though it was later stalled. Kasthuri Shankar also worked with the studio and assisted on the oversight of the production of Urchagam (2007). The studio returned to prioritising distribution ventures and instead chose to make small budget films such as Kaivantha Kalai (2006) and Thirudi (2006). In 2015, GV Films held a ceremony in Mumbai to mark 25 years since its founding.

Other ventures

In 1993, GV Films worked on bringing Michael Jackson to India for two live concerts to be held in Bombay and Madras on 8 and 10 December in aid of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The event was later cancelled prompting the studio to suffer heavy losses and begin litigation.

In 2000, GV Films paid $43.6 million to acquire about 8,000 international titles from a seller's offshore investment company Pinewood Films. This included the masters for non-exclusive internet, DVD and theatrical rights. The deal was considered the biggest catalogue buyout by an Indian company. During the same period, GV Films entered into a joint venture with UK internet portal Asian Online.

As of 2020, the group of companies is headed by Ishari K. Ganesh.

Filmography

Film production

as Sujatha Films

as GV Films

Film distribution

In addition to the production of films since 2010, GV Films has also been involved in distributing films of other production houses across certain regions.

• Aalavandhan (2001)
• Baba (2002)
• Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006)
• Vallavan (2006)
• Thaamirabharani (2007)
• Sivaji (2007)

Television

• Mayavi (Jaya TV)

References

1. "Celluloid Deities: The Visual Culture of Cinema and Politics in South India – PDF Free Download". epdf.pub.
2. Shetty, Kavitha (31 May 1990). "Glamour and quick money draw professionals from other fields to Tamil cinema". India Today.
3. Rangan, Baradwaj (10 December 2013). Conversations with Mani Ratnam. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184756906 – via Google Books.
4. "Corporate film producer GV commits suicide". The Times of India. 4 May 2003.
5. "Mayavi, a stereoscopic series on Jaya TV". 1 November 2006.
6. "Trendy heroes - the Economic Times". cscsarchive.org:80. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
7. Warrier, Shobha (22 April 2002). "Priyanka Chopra goes unnoticed". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
8. "Film producer GV commits suicide". www.rediff.com.
9. Pearson, Bryan (18 May 2003). "Tamil coin crunch leads to suicide".
10. "rediff.com: Movies: The K Bhagyaraj interview". m.rediff.com.
11. Ram, Arun (19 May 2003). "Kollywood producer Venkateswaran suicide raises fears of box-office losses, empty theatres". India Today.
12. Govardan, D. "A private affair". The Economic Times.
13. "Manisha Koirala joins the board of GV Films". Indian Television Dot Com. 15 November 2005.
14. "GV Films signs up Sanjay Dutt, Devgan, Manjrekar". Chennai Online. 12 October 2005. Archived from the original on 17 February 2007.
15. "Flashback friday: Kasthuri Shankar shares a throwback picture with Sherin Shringar; says she was the latter's 'boss' once". The Times of India.
16. "Annual report" (PDF). www.gvfilms.in. 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
17. "Mallika Sherawat attends GV Films Limited (GVFL)'s silver anniversary bash in Mumbai". The Times of India.
18. "Gv Films Sues Michael Jackson". Business Standard India. 19 October 1996 – via Business Standard.
19. "Sena's HIStory Reversed | Outlook India Magazine". magazine.outlookindia.com/.
20. "With MJ gone will his event managers survive?". mid-day. 1 July 2009.
21. "India's GV Films pact for 8,000 titles | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 10 May 2007.
22. Lall, Bhuvan (21 February 2000). "India's GV, Asian Online form webcasting venture". Screen.
23. "G.V. FILMS LIMITED – Company, directors and contact details | Zauba Corp". www.zaubacorp.com.

• Film distributors of India
• Film production companies based in Chennai
• Indian film studios
• 1989 establishments in Tamil Nadu
• Indian companies established in 1989
• Mass media companies established in 1989