Lyca Productions
{{short description|Indian film studio founded in 2014}}
{{redirect|Lyca|the song|Swarmz|the Filipina singer|Lyca Gairanod}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Lyca Productions
| logo = Lyca Productions.svg
| type = Private
| industry = Entertainment
| founded = {{Start date and age|2014}} in Chennai, India
| founder = Subaskaran Allirajah| key_people = G.K.M. Tamil Kumaran
| location_city = Chennai
| products = Films
| parent = Lycamobile
| location_country = India
| website = {{URL|lycaproductions.in}}
}}
Lyca Productions ({{IPAc-en|l|aɪ|k|ɑː}}) is an Indian entertainment company founded by Subaskaran Allirajah in 2014. Subaskaran Allirajah is a British citizen of Sri Lanka Tamil ethnicity. A subsidiary of Lycamobile (part of the Lyca Group), the studio has been involved in the production and distribution of Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Sinhala{{cite news |title=Lyca Productions to take Sri Lankan films to global audience |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/business/Lyca-Productions-to-take-Sri-Lankan-films-to-global-audience/215-265909 |access-date=March 24, 2025 |work=Daily Mirror}} films. It has produced some of Tamil cinema's most expensive films, including 2.0 (2018), Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022), and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023) and L2: Empuraan (2025).
History
Pirivom Santhippom (2008) was the first film produced by A. Subhaskaran under Gnanam films.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Lyca Productions chose to collaborate with Ayngaran International to produce and signed on AR Murugadoss and Vijay to be a part of their debut project.{{cite web |url=http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/slideshow/superstars-plan-for-the-future-top-10-news/ar-murugadoss-vijay.html |title=AR Murugadoss – Vijay – Superstars plan for the future – Top 10 News |publisher=}} A social drama tackling the issue of farmers committing suicide due to corporate encroachment, Kaththi was shot throughout early 2014 with Samantha and Neil Nitin Mukesh signed on for other pivotal roles. As the film announced its release plans, several pro-Tamil pressure groups demanded all references to Lyca Productions to be removed from the title and other publicity material. The groups felt it was unacceptable that a business house, allegedly reported to be connected to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, would be allowed to produce a Tamil movie in Tamil Nadu when the Tamil Nadu Assembly, citing human rights violations during the civil war in the island nation, had already passed a resolution seeking severance of business ties with Sri Lanka.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-society/sword-hangs-over-kaththi/article6520427.ece |title=Sword hangs over Kaththi |date=21 October 2014 |publisher= |newspaper=The Hindu}} Unable to reach a compromise with the pressure groups, and fearing a boycott and violence, Lyca Productions chose to remove its name from the copies released in India.{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/vijay-all-issues-over-release-of-kaththi-resolved/20141021.htm |title=Vijay: All issues over release of Kaththi resolved – Rediff.com Movies |publisher=}} Kaththi consequently managed to release in October 2014 to positive reviews, with Rediff.com stating that the film "entertains with a message", while Sify.com similarly stated that it was a "well made entertainer with a powerful message".{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-kaththi-entertains-with-a-message/20141022.htm |title=Review: Kaththi entertains with a message |publisher=}}{{cite web |url=http://www.sify.com/movies/kaththi-review-tamil-pcmbz6hbbiced.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303203935/http://www.sify.com/movies/kaththi-review-tamil-pcmbz6hbbiced.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2015 |title=Review : (2014) |website=Sify}} The film became a very profitable venture at the box office for Lyca Productions, grossing over 100 crore rupees within two weeks of release.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/kaththi-crosses-rs100-crore-mark/article6560165.ece |title='Kaththi' crosses Rs.100 crore mark |date=3 November 2014 |publisher= |newspaper=The Hindu}}{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/kaththi-mints-rs154-crore-on-release-day/article6528124.ece |title='Kaththi' mints Rs.15.4 crore on release day |date=23 October 2014 |publisher= |newspaper=The Hindu}}
In late 2015, Lyca Productions agreed a deal with Dhanush for the worldwide distribution rights of two of his productions, Naanum Rowdydhaan (2015) and Visaranai (2016). The movie was also met with protests, though Naanum Rowdydhaan released without any problems and also became a profitable venture for the studio.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/lyca-productions-new-film-in-trouble/article7791435.ece |title=Lyca Productions' new film in trouble |date=22 October 2015 |publisher= |newspaper=The Hindu}}{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/lyca-productions-making-a-comeback/article7621552.ece |title=Lyca Productions making a comeback |date=6 September 2015 |publisher= |newspaper=The Hindu}} Also throughout 2015, Lyca Productions worked on the pre-production of 2.0, a sequel to Shankar's earlier Enthiran (2010), and signed on Rajinikanth and Amy Jackson to feature in key roles. Believed to be the most expensive Indian production of all time, the team also negotiated for several months with Arnold Schwarzenegger for a role in the film, but eventually did not sign him.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/deep-in-the-no-returns-market/article7970833.ece |title=Deep in the no-returns market |date=10 December 2015 |publisher= |newspaper=The Hindu}} The studio also launched another film titled Enakku Innoru Per Irukku with G. V. Prakash Kumar in the lead role during December 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-15/gv-prakash-and-sam-antons-next-titled-as-enakku-innoru-peru-irukku.html |title=GV Prakash and Sam Anton's next titled as Enakku Innoru Peru Irukku |date=14 December 2015 |publisher=}}
Produced films
{{pending films key}}
Distributed films
In addition to the films produced by Lyca Productions since 2014, the following filmsfrom other banners were distributed by the company:
| class="wikitable"
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Films that have not yet been released}} | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Lyca Music
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="width: 100%; text-align: center;" | |||
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Language ! scope="col" | Music Director | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Enakku Innoru Per Irukku | rowspan=5|Tamil | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
| rowspan=4|2018 | Yaman | Vijay Antony | |
| Ippadai Vellum | D. Imman | ||
| Diya | Sam C. S. | ||
| 2.0 | A. R. Rahman |
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}