Who was Achani Ravi: The Noted Film Producer and New Wave Advocate
Ravi established his production banner, General Pictures, in 1967, which became synonymous with quality filmmaking.
Noted film producer and industrialist K Ravindranathan Nair passed away on Saturday due to age-related ailments. He was 90. The end came at his home in Kollam on Saturday morning.
Popularly known as ‘Achani Ravi’ and ‘General Pictures Ravi,’ Ravindranathan Nair was an advocate of the New Wave movement in Malayalam films. He got the nickname ‘Achani Ravi’ after his film Achani became a box-office success.
He was known for his production banner General Pictures, which was established in 1967 after taking over the family cashew business.
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Ravindranathan Nair’s General Pictures released its first film Sathyan-starrer ‘Anweshichu Kandethiyilla’ in 1967. This was followed by ‘Laksha Prabhu’ in 1968 and ‘Kattukurang’ in 1969.
One of his notable films is ‘Achani’, which was released in 1973, and earned him popularity. Over the years, General Pictures has produced iconic Malayalam movies such as ‘Kanchana Sita’, ‘Kummatty’, ‘Esthappan’, ‘Thampu’ and ‘Vidheyan’, among others.
He lent huge support to film directors like Aravindan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and P Bhaskaran.
Ravindranathan Nair received numerous national and state awards for his contributions. He was also a recipient of prestigious JC Daniel Award for his contributions to Malayalam cinema.
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