Background[]
A.V.M. Productions (A. V. Meiyappan Productions) is an Indian film production company founded in 1945 by A. V. Meiyappan, who founded previously Sarashwathi Sound Productions and Pragati Pictures Limited in the 1930s. It is the oldest surviving film studio in India. Since 1947, the company has produced over 170 movies in the Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Even when A.V. Meiyappan died in 1979, the company remains one of the most famous film companies in Indian cinema. The A.V.M.'s Tamil & Telugu movie library are owned by AP International (for Tamil movies) or Rose Telugu Movies (for Telugu movies). The logo carries a similar design to the 20th Century Studios logo.
1st Logo (1948)[]
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Logo: On a dark background, we see this 3D text (that looks like a structure), reading "AVM PRODUCTIONS".
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: A somber melody of a clarinet.
Availability: Seen only on Vedhala Ulagam.
Editor's Note: This is a cheap logo, but it's what you expect from a then-small independent company from India.
2nd Logo (1949-50, 1954)[]
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Logo: On a parquet floor (which is taken from the intro of Vazhkai), we see a similar 3D text from the previous logo, but the sides of the structure appear darker.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: A re-recorded version of the previous melody.
Availability: Seen on Vazhkai, Bedara Kannappa and Jeevitham.
Editor's Note: Same as the previous logo.
3rd Logo (1951-76)[]
Logo: The signature logo text from the previous logo is seen on a Fox-like tower, placed on a cityscape background at night. The logo zooms into the text.
Variants: Various colored variants of the logo exist.
- For example, Pooja had a blue sunset sky with a dark shade of white for the tower.
- Sometimes, the logo is more zoomed out/in.
- The logo also may appear very dark, leaving only the words
FX/SFX: The zoom-in. Sometimes the logo is live-action, while other times (especially on earlier films) it's 2D.
Music/Sounds: A re-recorded version of the melody, which is now accompanied by a tanpura.
Availability: Seen on many films from the period, like Pooja, Uyarntha Manithan, Chori Chori, Bhakta Prahalada, Anbe Vaa, and Bahar. The AVM's film library (1951-1976) is owned by AP International for released Tamil movies.
Editor's Note: Given the addition of the tanpura making this logo just a tad creepier, not to mention the dark city landscape. Overall, it's an improvement over the previous logos.
4th Logo (1980-)[]
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Nicknames: "Post-Meiyappan Era", "AVM Structure II"
Logo: Same as the previous logo, but with a sunset yellow, red and blue background and with a different cityscape. This logo is preceded by the "in memoriam"-type screen of the studio's founder, A. V. Meiyappan.
Variant: Starting from the 2000s, the buildings have more light on them. The sky is also brighter.
Anniversary Variants: After the regular logo, one of the anniversary things will occur:
- 50th Anniversary: On a blue background, we see a clear Earth with golden continents. "AVM" then orbits it and "50" zooms out to take its place in front of the Earth. The background then becomes white as "AVM" in a red-blue gradient appears letter-by-letter in the top-left corner of the globe. A rainbow filmstrip then flies and becomes a normal filmstrip as it takes its place behind the Earth. "GOLDEN YEARS" then fades beside the Earth.
- 60th Anniversary: We zoom out from a golden "60" which is surrounded by colorful flashing lights. It then zooms out from a 3D version of the AVM structure (which lacks PRODUCTIONS) behind a 3D cityscape, which has "DIAMOND YEARS" underneath "60". It is surrounded by golden searchlights, making it resemble the Fox logo. Fireworks then explode in the background.
- 70th Anniversary: In front of the Earth at night in space, white beads form the number "70" which then forms a golden outline of the number. Then it becomes daytime as a more faithful AVM structure (still no PRODUCTIONS) forms behind it. "AVM" has purple bulbs in it. Fireworks explode to the left of the structure.
FX/SFX: Same as the previous logo but purely live-action. The 50th anniversary variant is a mix of 3D and 2D while the 60th and 70th anniversaries are in amazing CGI.
Music/Sounds: The same melody from the previous logo. Starting in the 2000s, the melody was re-recorded once again to make it sound even more melancholic.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- On its 50th anniversary, a bombastic fanfare with a flute tune based on the melody plays.
- On one film, the fanfare is played on the normal logo due to the normal melody playing in a "Sincere Thanks To" sequence before the "in memoriam" screen.
- On its 60th anniversary, an orchestral rendition of the melody, with sounds of fireworks on the end.
- On its 70th anniversary, an more majestic orchestral rendition of the melody, also with sounds of fireworks on the end.
Availability: Seen on Murattu Kaalai, and Punnami Naagu. In addition, some variants of the logo have been seen on the TV series released by AVM on its official channel (for TV serials) in YouTube.
Editor's Note: Same as above, but the visuals looks more appealing. Quite honestly, the logo is now outdated by today's standards and the re-recorded music sounds more depressing than the previous. The anniversary variants are great though.