September 5, 2006

L.V.Prasad 1908 – 1994
A life dedicated to cinema

As the train chugged along on its long way to Bombay in the year 1930 , carrying with it the dreams, hopes and aspirations of one young man, little did anyone know that this young man will one day rise from nothing to become a doyen and legend in the world of Indian filmdom. An achievement driven by passion and an immortal spirit. As L.V.Prasad stepped out of the train in Bombay little did he himself know of the struggle that lay ahead of him in the long and winding path that will eventually take him to his Crowning Glory, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award from the Government of India in the year 1982 – the highest recognition for achievement in filmdom.

From an inconspicuous lad peering through the walls of the film studios, to a stage hand, actor, camera assistant, director, producer and finally an industrialist L.V.Prasad’s life was a shining example to many whose dreams centered around glory.

L.V.Prasad founded the Prasad Group in the year 1956 by starting Prasad Productions which is today 50 years old. Over the years Prasad Productions produced over 26 feature films in different Indian languages setting standards and values that still continue to exist in today’s films. Today the group has offices and facilities in all major Indian Cities, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

In 1965 Prasad Studios was established to provide the much wanted facilities to the film industry. Ably led by his son Ramesh Prasad, an engineer educated in the USA, a film processing unit in Chennai was set up in the year 1976. A Hallmark of quality, service and trust Prasad Film Laboratories today has six facilities in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Bhuvaneshwar and Trivandrum equipped with the best of machinery and people. The awards won by Prasad Film Laboratories are countless. The feather in the cap is the National Award for Best Film Lab(different categories) which was won 16 times.

L.V.Prasad donated liberally to set up an ultra modern eye care facility in Hyderabad offering free services to the poor and needy. Headed by Dr.Gullapalli Nageswara Rao, L.V.Prasad Eye Institute is today, one of the premier such facilities in the world equipped with the very best of equipment and professionals.

L.V.Prasad’s grandson Sai Prasad, also an engineer educated in the USA., joined a little later to make the group look towards the digital future of cinema. Thus the group expanded its reach into the digital domain and very soon strongly entrenched itself by starting Prasad Video Digital and then EFX. The group has state-of-the art scanners, telecine machines and film recorders which cater to the growing and demanding needs of today’s digital cinema experience. Today the services offered by the group spans the entire gamut of film post production – Film Processing, Digital Intermediate, HD Post, Film Restoration, Telecine, Audio, Video, NLE, Reverse Telecine, Visual Effects, Equipment Hire, Ad-film Production, Entertainment Centre, Multimedia, and more through its facilities in India, Singapore and United Arab Emirates. In many of these services the group is a market leader.

Going beyond this Prasad Group opened its Multiplex, Imax theatre and Mall with excellent entertainment facilities in Hyderabad in 2003. In a short span of time it has become ‘the happening place’ in Hyderabad. L.V.Prasad was a man who was borne for, lived and breathed cinema. Recollecting his past when formal Education in the field of film making and related technologies were unavailable or limited, L.V.Prasad dreamt of the day he would lay the foundation for a Film Institute where one could effectively pursue a career in this area of his passion. This was fulfilled by his son Ramesh Prasad in 2005 following the same commitment and passion as his father.

Over 75 long years have come and gone by since the young lad full of dreams alighted from the train in Bombay. Seventy five long years during which much has happened and changed. Today as we look back at his achievements and look ahead into the future we realize that his journey is endless. As we move ahead in this endless journey with passion, determination, clarity and guided, above all, by an immortal spirit called L.V.Prasad, we rededicate ourselves to his ideals and morals.

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