Merryland Studio was the second film production studio in the Malayalam language

Malayalam language

Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...

 film industry

Film industry

The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...

 of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It was established in 1951 by director-producer P. Subramaniam

P. Subramaniam

P. Subramaniam was an Indian director and producer of Malayalam films. Since the mid 1950s he has directed 59 films and has produced 69 films. His venture Merryland Studio was the second film production studio of Kerala...

 in Nemom

Nemom

Nemom is a suburb of the city of Trivandrum , capital of Kerala state, India. It lies 8 km to the south of the city center, on the main arterial highway leading to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. Nemom now falls within the municipal corporation of Trivandrum, though partly exclusive...

, Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. The studio has produced 69 films, with 59 of them directed by P. Subrahmaniam himself. Merryland Studio was famous for their professional rivalry with Kunchacko

Kunchacko

Kunchacko was a Malayali Indian film producer and director who heavily influenced the Malayalam film industry by redefining the commercial film scenario. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madras, Tamil Nadu to Kerala...

's Udaya Studio, which was the first movie studio of Kerala.

History

When cinema became a passion, Subramaniam decided to buy some property to begin a studio complex. He bought land at Nemom, Thiruvananthapuram, and founded the studio in 1951, with two floors and a single camera. The first production Atma Sakhi (1952), was given a lukewarm reception by viewers. It was the comedy film Avakashikal that put Merryland on the success chart. Mantravadi (1957) was the first film that made Subramaniam a director. He went on to direct 59 films, out of the 69 films produced by Merryland. The list includes a string of landmark films of Malayalam cinema history.

Hridayathinte Nirangal was the last movie to come out of Merryland. Subramaniam died in 1978, and it spelt the death knell of Merryland Studio as a powerhouse of Malayalam Cinema.