A. S. Ibrahim Rowther

Ibrahim Rowther was an Indian film producer and writer who had worked on Tamil language films. He was a close friend of Tamil actor and politician Vijayakant. He produced films under the studios Rowther Films, Tamilannai Cine Creation and IV Cine International.

Career Ibrahim Rowther launched his first film, Uzhavan Magan in 1987 to promote his friend Vijayakanth as an actor in the Tamil film industry. Vijayakanth subsequently garnered several bigger offers, and regularly collaborated with Ibrahim during his acting career.

In the late 1990s, Ibrahim took up a key administrative role in the Tamil Film Producers Council and later served as its president. His production house, Rowther Films, began to fail in the late 1990s and films such as K.Paarthasarathy's Unakkum Enakkum Kalyanam featuring Livingston and Devayani were put on hold.

In 2000, Ibrahim Rowther announced five new films as a part of a comeback after the slowdown. He created a new banner known as Kamban Kalaikoodam, and planned to collaborate with directors he had already worked with. He announced films including Manobala's Naan Paada Ninaippathellam featuring Ramesh Aravind, Swarnamalya and Suhasini; Senthilnathan's Kadhal Mudal Kadhal Varai featuring Bala Kumaran and Uma; J. Panneer's Enakkoru Snehithi featuring Hamsavardhan and Rishi; A. R. Ramesh's Daddy featuring Raghuvaran; and R. Aravindraj's Pesum Vizhigal featuring Jaishankar's son Jaivijay. None of the films materialised owing to financial problems.

Rowther Films' first release in the 21st century was Puriyadha Anandam Puthithaga Arambam (2015) featuring Krish and Srushti Dange in the lead role. Rowther had selected Krish for the role in late 2012, but the film eventually went through a production delay and did not perform well at the box office.

Personal life Ibrahim had a close relationship with his childhood friend, actor Vijayakanth. As his trusted confidante in the industry, Ibrahim was entrusted with the job of picking out the right scripts and producing films for the actor. However, the pair later fell out in 2012, with Rowther departing from Vijayakanth's political party to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam citing that Vijayakanth lacked decorum.

Death Vijayakanth often visited Rowther in hospital a week before his death and wrote an open letter about their friendship. Ibrahim Rowther died aged 63, following a prolonged illness on 22 July 2015.

Filmography As producer Rowther Films Title Year Director Cast NotesUzhavan Magan 1987 R. Aravindraj Vijayakanth, Radhika, RadhaThalattu Padava 1990 R. Sundarrajan Parthiban, Rupini, KhushbuBharathan 1992 Sabapathy Dekshinamurthy Vijayakanth, Bhanupriya, NapoleonThai Mozhi 1992 R. R. Ilavarasan Sarathkumar, Vijayakanth, MohiniRajadurai 1993 S. A. Chandrasekhar Vijayakanth, Jayasudha, SivaranjaniKaruppu Nila 1995 R. Aravindraj Vijayakanth, Ranjitha, KhushbuAavathum Pennale Azhivathum Pennale 1996 Senthilnathan Arun Pandian, Mansoor Ali Khan, RajashreeDharma 1998 Keyaar Vijayakanth, Preetha Vijayakumar, ShilpaPuriyadha Anandam Puthithaga Arambam 2015 Syed Ibrahim Krish, Srushti DangeEllaam Mela Irukuravan Paathuppan 2023 U. Kaviraj Aari Arujunan, Shaashvi Bala

Tamilannai Cine Creation Title Year Director Cast NotesPoonthotta Kaavalkaaran 1988 Senthilnathan Vijayakanth, Radhika, AnandPaattukku Oru Thalaivan 1989 Liaquat Ali Khan Vijayakanth, ShobanaEn Aasai Machan 1994 R. Sundarrajan Vijayakanth, Murali, RevathiGandhi Pirantha Mann 1995 R. Sundarrajan Vijayakanth, Revathi, RavaliAavathum Pennale Azhivathum Pennale1996SenthilnathanArun PandiyanDhinamum Ennai Gavani 1997 A. R. Ramesh Ramki, Sanghavi, Prakash RajSimmasanam 2000 Eshwaran Vijayakanth, Khushbu, Manthra

I. V. Cine Productions Title Year Director Cast NotesPulan Visaranai 1990 R. K. Selvamani Vijayakanth, Rupini, RadharaviCaptain Prabhakaran 1991 R. K. Selvamani Vijayakanth, Rupini, SarathkumarSakkarai Devan 1993 J. Panneer Vijayakanth, Sukanya, Kanaka Ulavuthurai 1998 Ramesh Selvan Vijayakanth, Meena, Pulan Visaranai 2 2015 R. K. Selvamani Prashanth, Karthika, Parul Yadav