Henry is an Indian film producer and film distributor, who heads the studios Carolina Films and Pangaj Productions.[1]

Henry
Born19 December
India
NationalityIndian
OccupationFilm producer

History

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Henry began his film career as a producer through Carolina Films and notably made Yavanika (1982), a Malayalam film with Mammootty in the lead role. The film performed well commercially and launched the career of Mammootty, while Henry won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film prize.[2] Despite the success, Henry moved on to make Tamil films and produced several films in Madras. He made Kolangal (1995) through Carolina Films, but created Pangaj Productions for his next release Bharathi Kannamma (1997), the debut of director Cheran.[3] The studio's next two films, the social dramas Maru Malarchi (1998) and Pudhumai Pithan (1998), also fared well commercially.[citation needed]

The success of the films prompted the studio to consider other projects such as Pramod's Mazhai Vara Poguthae featuring Ajith Kumar and Vanavedikkai featuring Suriya, but neither film materialised despite Prabhu Deva later replacing Ajith in the former venture. The former film was planned as a bilingual in Hindi and Tamil, with Juhi Chawla and Pratap Pothen in further lead roles.[4] In 1999, the studio worked with actor Vijayakanth for Kallazhagar. The success of the film prompted the studio to sign Vijayakanth for another venture, based on the massacre of an Australian Christian missionary in a tribal village of Orissa. However, the film was later shelved.[citation needed]

In 2010, following the failure of the bilingual film Vandae Maatharam, Henry alleged that Mammootty's lack of interest in the project was the reason behind the film's delay and poor box office performance. The film had taken over three years in production, and had initially been launched with great fanfare after Henry announced that A. R. Rahman would compose music and Amitabh Bachchan would portray a guest role. However, financial problems meant that neither happened, and the final product lacked finesse.[5][6] Henry claimed that the actor "sleep walked through the film", "was wooden in action scenes" and "could not do stunt scenes".[7][8] Despite their previous success, Henry vowed never to work with the actor again.[9][10]

Henry then started producing a Hindi film in 2011 titled Alert 24x7 by Sojan Joseph starring Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon. Within a month of the film's launch, the actors and technicians walked out citing the producer's financial problems.[11][12] Later that year, Henry openly criticised the operations of the Tamil Film Producers Council.[13]

Filmography

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Carolina Films

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Title Year Language Director Cast Synopsis Ref.
Yavanika 1982 Malayalam K. G. George Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, Jalaja [14]
Kolangal 1995 Tamil I. V. Sasi Jayaram, Khushbu, Raghuvaran [15]

Pangaj Productions

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Title Year Language Director Cast Synopsis Ref.
Bharathi Kannamma 1997 Tamil Cheran R. Parthiepan, Meena, Raja Bharathi, who works for a rich man, and Kannama, the daughter of a rich landlord, fall in love. Kannamma commits suicide by burning herself as she cannot marry Bharathi because of their caste difference [15]
Maru Malarchi 1998 Tamil K. Bharathi Mammootty, Devayani, Ranjith Rasu Padayachi, a village chief, is loved by everyone in his village for his good deeds. When he is assaulted due to a misunderstanding, conflict arises between two villages [16]
Pudhumai Pithan 1998 Tamil S. K. Jeeva R. Parthiepan, Devayani, Roja, Priya Raman Jeeva is framed and sent to a mental asylum and his family murdered when he earns the enmity of a corrupt politician. He escapes the asylum and exacts revenge on the politician who destroyed his life. [17]
Kallazhagar 1999 Tamil K. Bharathi Vijayakanth, Laila, Sonu Sood A man decides to save a temple from being bombed by terrorists. [18]
Kannukku Kannaga 2000 Tamil S. Dhayalan Murali, Devayani, Raja, Vindhya Devi is afraid to tell her brother that she loves Arun. On learning about their relationship, he agrees to the marriage, but an astrologer predicts that he will die if Devi births a male child. [19]
Vandae Maatharam 2010 Tamil / Malayalam T. Aravind Mammootty, Arjun, Sneha, Shraddha Arya Two tough police officers are dedicated towards the eradication of terrorism. They also work towards the cause of farmer's welfare and are disturbed by the infiltration of terrorists in this arena. [20]

References

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  1. ^ "One more doctorate for Kollywood - Tamil Movies News - Henry Bhrathi Kannamma Marumalarchi". www.behindwoods.com.
  2. ^ Chronicler, Bharat (19 November 2007). "A classic called 'Yavanika'". Bharat Gopy.
  3. ^ "Vande Matharam Malayalam Movie Preview cinema review stills gallery trailer video clips showtimes". IndiaGlitz.com.
  4. ^ "Minnoviyam Star Tracks". 20 April 1999. Archived from the original on 20 April 1999.
  5. ^ "'Vande Mataram' arrives". The New Indian Express.
  6. ^ "Actors are let down by movie's poor scripting and screenplay". TimesLIVE.
  7. ^ "Henry blames Mammootty after film flops". Sify. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Mammooty and his three heroines! TAMIL MOVIE NEWS - Behindwoods.com Mammooty Aruvadai Arjun Sneha Kalabhavan Mani Amitabh Sheik Shreya Namitha Sneha director Shaji Khailash's Assistant Directed by Aravind Henry Pankaj Productions Kollywood produced by Baburaja for JJ Good films banner stills picture image gallery picture image gallery". www.behindwoods.com.
  9. ^ "You got a problem". Bangalore Mirror.
  10. ^ Narayanan, Nirmal (24 February 2019). "Throwback: When a producer called Mammootty the most arrogant actor". www.ibtimes.co.in.
  11. ^ "Sanjay-Raveena starrer 'Alert' in trouble". mid-day. 1 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Actors achieve stardom because of action films: Sanjay Dutt". The Times of India.
  13. ^ "Henry Threatens Action Against Producers' Council - Henry - Sa Chandrasekar - Rama Narayanan - Tamil Movie News - Behindwoods.com". www.behindwoods.com.
  14. ^ Kumar, P. k Ajith (29 April 2017). "A landmark in Malayalam film history". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
  15. ^ a b "Bharathi Kannamma: Movie Review Page". Archived from the original on 1 September 1999.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ "Marumalarchi: Movie Review". 19 October 2006. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ "Review". indolink.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ^ "THE HINDU ONLINE : Friday, February 12, 1999 Entertainment 09120224.htm". 7 April 2001. Archived from the original on 7 April 2001.
  19. ^ "Film Review: Kannukku Kannaga". The Hindu. 26 October 2000 – via www.thehindu.com.
  20. ^ "Bad screenplay kills Vande Mataram". Rediff.
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