L.V. Prasad, the Industrialist
L.V.Prasad lived and breathed cinema and
it was his wish that whatever he earned out of his films was ploughed
back into the development of cinema. In his long ordeous path
to glory, he found that every ten years there occurred a change for the
better in his professional life. The first ten years saw him struggle
to become a successful Director. The next ten years made him claim the
position of a successful Producer and before completion of the next decade
he had become a proud owner of a Studio which he took over from Ranganadhadas
of Rajyam Pictures, who had produced a memorable social film titled Samsaram
, which was later made in Hindi and Tamil by S.S.Vasan. The studios became
fully functional in the year 1965 with the active participation of his
son-in-law RVMK Prasad, an Engineer. In the following years he produced
great box office hits in Hindi and once again proved his total devotion
to cinema by establishing a state-of-the-art film processing laboratory
in Chennai to process not only his films but also that of film makers
from South India and Bombay. The Laboratory was the brain child of his
son Ramesh, an engineer from the USA, who, took the vision of L.V.Prasad
forward and established more film labs in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bhuvaneswar,
Trivandrum and Mumbai, making Prasad Film Labs the largest such network
of facilities in India. These laboratories are fully supported with excellent
infrastructure for audio, film editing and other lab related services.
It is pertinent to note that L.V.Prasad always longed to get the best
of equipment available in the world and he was the first to import Oxberry
optical printer & animation stand as early as 1956 and he even had
a German technician working on the machines!
L.V.Prasad, being a true film maker, knew the importance of good cameras
and pioneered the establishment of an outdoor unit equipment division
with his first son Anand in control. Later it was named Anand Cine Services
and is today the largest such service provider in India, now managed by
Anands sons Ravi Shankar Prasad and Manohar Prasad.
Today
Prasad Group has production facilities in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Bhuvaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkatta, Singapore, Hollywood
with additional marketing offices in New Delhi and Dubai. Sai Prasad,
an electronics engineer and son of Ramesh Prasad foresaw the dawn of the
digital future way back in the late 80s and started guiding the
group into the digital world of post production. Through its state-of-the-art
facilities Prasad Group offers all services related to digital post production
namely Digital Intermediate, Visual Effects, Telecine, Reverse Telecine,
High Definition Post production, Digital Film Restoration and more.
Ramesh Prasad, continuing in the spirit and legacy of L.V.Prasad, took
his fathers vision of wholesome family entertainment further, started
Prasads, a one of its kind family entertainment center in
Hyderabad housing a 5 screen Multiplex, Imax Theatre, entertainment zones,
shopping, food court and more, incorporating some of the best brands in
the world. This Mall was launched in 2003 and in a short period it has
become the happening place in Hyderabad. Ramesh Prasad, seeing
the dearth of good film education facilities in India implemented his
fathers vision of providing higher education in the art and technology
of film making by starting L.V.Prasad Film & TV Academy in 2005, providing
courses in Film Direction, Cinematography and Audio Engineering.
Traditionally, Prasad Group, as a pioneer, has always brought the latest
and the best equipment available to serve its customers. Continuing this
tradition, Prasad Group is today expanding at a rapid pace and investing
in latest technologies and equipment. Recently Prasad Group have brought
the world famous Panavision Cameras to India. Clients from around the
world come to Prasad Group to work on their projects and outsource to
its facilities in India. Keeping in mind the requirements and expectations
of a global clientele Prasad Group is investing a lot of time and manpower
in customer experience management. The future is Digital and Prasad Group
is already a leader in providing cutting edge digital solutions for all
aspects of film production, post production and exhibition. The visionary
who saw all this happening in the future, L.V.Prasad, is no more with
us, but he would have been a proud man today to see Prasad Group take
these strides forward.
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