The AVM Heritage Museum inside AVM Studios on Arcot Road, Vadapalani, is open from Friday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, and closed on public holidays, according to AVM’s own page. Groups of more than 30 can book a visit on any day, but only in advance. The museum opened on 7 May 2023, when the then Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and actor Kamal Haasan inaugurated it.
It is the only place in Chennai where a working studio from the black-and-white era has put its own history on display. Here is what you will see, how to plan a visit, and why this one compound matters so much to the story of Tamil cinema.
Planning a visit
- Address: AVM Studios compound, 38 Arcot Road, Chennai 600 026. The nearest metro stop is Vadapalani.
- Phone: +91 89398 90506 or 044 4213 6700.
- Tickets: AVM’s page says only that an entry fee applies. At the opening in 2023, The News Minute reported Rs 200 for adults and Rs 150 for children. Confirm the current rate by phone.
- Days: early reports said the museum opened every day except Tuesday. The studio’s current page gives Friday to Sunday, so go by that.
The management reserves the right of admission, and filming may be going on elsewhere in the compound, so stay within the museum area.
What is on display
Cars are the headline. Founder A.V. Meiyappan’s own vehicles are here, including a 1935 MG that appeared in the song “Athiradee” from Sivaji: The Boss (2007), an AVM production. The South First listed a Vauxhall 14, a Chevrolet Fleetmaster, a Mercedes-Benz 180, an MG TB and a Fiat, along with a replica of Carl Benz’s 1885 patent motor car. Two-wheelers such as the Bajaj Chetak, Yamaha RX100 and TVS M80 sit nearby.
The film sections matter more to most visitors:
- Old cameras, editing tables, sound boards and recorders that show how films were made before digital tools.
- Gramophones, reel-to-reel machines, records and cassettes, with listening stations on playback singing.
- Posters arranged as a timeline from black-and-white to colour, plus props, photographs and personal belongings of actors and filmmakers.
- A mini-theatre that screens AVM classics.
How AVM got to Vadapalani
A.V. Meiyappan’s early films were shot in Madras before the studio settled anywhere permanent. According to a Sahapedia study of the AVM laboratory, he made Sabapathy (1942) in a one-floor studio in Adyar, then set up in his hometown of Karaikudi, about 400 km away, where Naam Iruvar (1947) and Vedhala Ulagam (1948) were made. When rent in Karaikudi doubled and a ban on electricity use in Madras was lifted, the studio moved back to the city in 1949. Its first film there was Vazhkai (1949). Sources differ on the founding year, with reports giving 1945 or 1946.
AVM became one of the five big studios of the Madras system, alongside Modern Theatres, Gemini, Prasad and Vijaya-Vauhini, according to Madras Musings. Those studios copied Hollywood’s way of working, keeping writers, actors and technicians on the payroll. Parasakthi (1952), which launched Sivaji Ganesan, is the AVM film most often cited from that period.
AVM’s website now describes it as the oldest active film studio in India, with more than 177 films over more than 77 years. Its own film laboratory did not last: Sahapedia records that the lab shut around 2018 and its space was sold in November 2019.
The family behind the studio
M. Saravanan, the founder’s third son, took charge of AVM Productions in 1958 and steered films from Samsaram Adhu Minsaram to Sivaji and Ayan. He died on 4 December 2025, a day after turning 86, The News Minute reported, and the studio is now managed by his son M.S. Kugan.
The lab’s story is a reminder of how much of this history has already gone. Sahapedia notes that AVM stayed with black-and-white processing in the late 1950s and 1960s while Gemini and Prasad set up colour labs, a choice it says had major consequences for the studio. Many of the old machines were scrapped in the 1990s.
Much of the studio era survives only in names. Vadapalani and Kodambakkam are still shorthand for Tamil cinema, but most of the old studio land has been redeveloped. That is why the museum, small as it is, is worth an afternoon.
Quick answers
What are the AVM Heritage Museum timings?
Friday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, closed on public holidays. Groups of over 30 can pre-book for other days.
How much is the ticket?
Rs 200 for adults and Rs 150 for children at the 2023 opening. AVM’s site does not list a current price, so call ahead.
Can I see a film shoot?
No such access is advertised. The museum is a separate section of the compound.
Is it suitable for children?
Yes. The cars, scooters and mini-theatre tend to hold children’s attention, and the child ticket was cheaper at opening.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- AVM Heritage Museum (AVM official site)
- Kollywood’s famous AVM Productions opens museum in Chennai (The News Minute)
- AVM Heritage Museum: a journey through Tamil cinema (The South First)
- Parameswaran and the AVM Cine Lab (Sahapedia)
- Studying the output of Madras studios (Madras Musings)
- Veteran Tamil film producer AVM Saravanan passes away (The News Minute)
