''Karuthamuthu'' () was a 2014 Indian television

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

language series, which premiered on 20 October 2014 on

Asianet Asianet may refer to: Disney Star channels *Asianet Communications, an Indian media company wholly owned by Disney Star **Asianet (TV channel), a Malayalam language general entertainment channel **Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertai ...

channel. It is the second longest running television soap opera in

television completing successful telecasting for five years with 1,450 episodes and four seasons. Karuthamuthu started off with story of a black-skinned lady, her life tribulations and story with

Kishor Satya Kishor Satya is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films and television soaps. Career Satya started his career in the visual media as the assistant director of Malayalam movies. He made his debut as assistant director of the film Kanjirapa ...

and

Premi Viswanath Premi Vishwanath is an Indian television actress from Kerala who predominantly appears in Malayalam and Telugu television Shows and films. She is known for her role as ''Karthika/Karthu'' in the soap opera ''Karuthamuthu'', which premiered on A ...

in the leading cast.

Renu Soundar Renu Soundar is an Born: (October 13, 1992) Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television series. She made her debut in the Malayalam film ''Manhole (2016 film)'' (2016). Her notable works include ''Chalakkudikkaran Changathi'' ...

and

Akshara Kishor Akshara Kishor, credited as Baby Akshara, is an Indian child actress who predominantly works in Malayalam television soap's and Films. She is known for her role as Balachandrika in the series ''Karuthamuthu'' on Asianet. In 2014, she made her de ...

played the lead role of season 2 which portrays on the story of ''Balamol'' (the daughter of Dr. Balachandran and Karthika). Darshana Das and Rini Raj plays the lead role in Season 3 which dealt the trials and tribulations of ''Balamol'' and ''Podimol'' (the daughter of Jayachandran and Kanya).

Pradeep Chandran Pradeep is a Diya lamp, used in Puja (religious ceremonies) in Hinduism, Jainism, & Buddhism. It is related to the name Pradip. Notable people with the name include: Pradeep Dahal* Pradeep (actor) * Kavi Pradeep * Vidya Pradeep * Pradeep Kumar ...

as Abhiram IPS. Finally, Season 4 portrayed the story of ''Muthu'' (Abhiram-Bala's daughter) played by Baby Kezhiya retaining the same cast of previous season. The show had highest TRP rating in the beginning and towards the last season rating decrease which force the channel to stop the serial. It is the first Malayalam show to be remade in five languages (

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

). The show has been retelecast in

Asianet Plus Asianet is an Indian Malayalam language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. Asianet and its channels are operated by Asianet Star Communicat ...

in the noon slot of 1.00PM IST since 15 June 2020, but was later cancelled due to low ratings.

Plot

Season 1

Karthika, a dark-skinned girl, is treated badly by her fair-skinned sister. She marries Balachandran but has to fight societal and family pressures in order to lead a happy married life.

Season 2

Nathan finds Karthu and her daughter, Balachandrika roaming around in streets of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

and takes them back but Karthu is physically ill and admits her in a hospital without letting others know about her. The series takes a twist with Bala's arrival to Kaipamangalam. Everyone refuses her except Balan. Later, Balachandran and family learn that Balamol is his own daughter at the same time Karthu's presence on the other hand Mareena and Balan's marriage was fixed, cruel Mareena learns that Balan is making a fool of her and plans to kill him. Mareena and Shekharan get to know that Karthu and her daughter is alive. They plan to kill them without anyone knowing about it. After an accident, Karthu loses her memory and is taken care by Dr. Arun. In an attempt to kill Balan unfortunately Jayan is killed by Mareena and Kanya becomes mentally unstable and later she gives birth to a baby girl. Balan suffers from cancer and leaves to Germany. Finally after series of events Kanya kills Mareena and is imprisoned. Podimol cared for by Karthu who remembers her past and is back at Kaipamangalam. Balan, Karthu and Bala reunite. Kunjusekharan becomes worried about Podimol as a fake astrologer predicts that Bala and Podimol cannot survive together at a place. Upon Kanya's release, Shekharan misleads her and takes her and Podimol away to live with him and his mother.

Season 3

Balachandrika becomes the sub collector of the city and story goes around her life. Now the story turn to show the relationship between Balamol and Podimol. Balamol being a collector catches Podimol's wrongdoings and forms an instant dislike towards her, despite Bala's soft heart. Bala and Abhiram are in love with each other from quite a long time, but Podimol is attracted towards Abhiram, too. Bala secretly marries Abhiram, without Podimol's knowledge. Later Bala's family reveals that Podimol is Bala's cousin and Bala regrets the marriage, and starts taking care of her, even though Podimol doesn't know that Bala is married to Abhiram. Aromal, Sadu's son tries to convey the message to Gayathri that Bala is already married to her love. Gayathri rejects this idea saying that her blood, her sister won't let her fail. On the other hand, Bala and Abhiram spend time secretly with each other in the fear of Gayathri learning about their marriage. Meanwhile, Bala conceives and Gayathri learns of it later. Suicidal, she's saved by Bala. After treatment under Dr. Arun, she starts afresh and gets married to Ganesh, a gentleman with a strict mother. The family gets to know of Balan's death in Germany and is heartbroken. Bala does all the rituals of her father who left for his heavenly abode. She faints and gets admitted in the hospital where she experiences severe pains. Her condition becomes critical when she is pushed from the stretcher by Stephen, a hitman hired by Shekharan. However, she survives the attack. Bala and Abhiram are blessed with a baby girl. The family rejoices. Meanwhile, Gayathri faces ill treatment from her mother-in-law who constantly berates her. However, her husband is supportive. Bala gets into an accident caused by Stephen due to which she loses her kid. The kid however turns out to be alive and is taken in by a church and is named Muthu.

Season 4

It portrayed the story of Muthu, the daughter of Abhiram and Bala.

Cast

Seasons 1 and 2 (2014 – 2017)

as Dr. Balachandran *

as Karthika Balachandran: Balachandran's wife. Balachandrika's mother. Kanya's elder stepsister and sister-in-law. Mallika's daughter. Nathan and Jagadhamba's daughter-in-law. Abhiram's mother-in-law. *

Archana Suseelan Archana Suseelan (born 6 October 1988) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the Malayalam television industry. Personal life and career Archana is a half Nepali and Indian born to Malayali father and Nepali mother. Archana came into ...

as Mareena (Main Antagonist) *

as Balachandrika/Bala mol (200-775 episodes) * Richard N. J. as Jayachandran *

Saranya Sasi Saranya Sasi (1986 – 9 August 2021) was an Indian actress who worked in Malayalam and Tamil films and television soap operas. Early life Saranya completed her school education from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Kannur and also held a degree ...

as Kanya (1 to 115 episodes) ** Lekshmi Priya replaced Saranya Sasi as Kanya (116 to 774 episodes) * Santhosh Kurup as Ret Prof. Nathan * Giridhar as Sreekanth * Srihari as Kunju Shekharan *

Sreelatha Namboothiri Sreelatha Namboothiri (born Anjilivelil Vasantha) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works in Malayalam cinema and television. She has acted in more than 300 films. ''Khadeeja'' in 1967 was her debut movie. Early life Sreelatha was ...

as Shekharan's mother *

Dr. Sharmila Dr. Sharmila is a doctor, actress, social activist and YouTuber from Tamil Nadu, India. She debuted in a STAR Vijay show, ''Puthira Punithama?'' along with N. Mathrubootham, which made her popular. She went on to act in various television se ...

as Jagadhamba * Rajani Murali as Nandini *

Shobha Mohan Shobha Mohan is an Indian actress known for her works, predominantly in Malayalam cinema along with few Tamil films. Biography Shobha Mohan was born to actor Kottarakara Sreedharan Nair and Vijayalakshmi at Kottarakkara in Kollam, Kerala. She ...

as Arundhathi * Devendranath as Dr. Arun *

Thara Kalyan Thara Kalyan (born 1 November 1967) is an Indian classical dancer and actress in Malayalam cinema. She has acted in mainstream Malayalam films, telefilms and television serials. She is also a professional dancer in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, ...

as Mallika * Akhil Nair as Aromal *

Jayakumar Parameswaran Pillai Jayakumar Parameshwaran Pillai is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films and television shows. He is best known for portraying comedic roles, but has also played character roles. Acting career He started his career as a theatre artist ...

as Sadanam Sadu * Arun Mohan as Stephen *

Shiju Shiju Abdul Rasheed is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam and Telugu films. He is known by stage name Devi Shiju in Telugu films as he played a role in Kodi Ramakrishna's Devi. He has appeared in more than 50 films and several popular TV s ...

as Shankar Das *

Lishoy Lishoy is an Indian actor in Kerala. He has played characters in stage, television and film. Personal life Originally from Thrissur, Lishoy gained popularity as a stage actor in professional theaters, such as Kazhimpram Theaters. Later he e ...

as Dr. Fernandus *

Balachandran Chullikkadu Balachandran Chullikkad (born 30 July 1957) is an Indian poet, orator, lyricist and actor in Malayalam-language. Early life Balachandran was born in Paravur, Ernakulam, Kerala, India. He completed his graduation in English literature from the ...

as Dr. Perumal * Bindu Murali as Lakshmi Dathan * Sree Padma as Anjana *

Pratheeksha G Pradeep Pratheeksha G Pradeep is an Indian television actress who appears in supporting roles in Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadw ...

as Raveena * T.S.Raju as Abhi's ammavan * Sarath Swamy as Amal *

Anand Narayan Anand Narayan (born 4 October 1985) is a yoga trainer, television personality and playback singer from Kerala, India. He hosted ''Josco Indian Voice'', a music reality show on Mazhavil Manorama. Early years and personal life Narayan is from ...

as Prem * Cherthala Lalitha as Sadu's mother / Nathan's sister * Lalitha as Mallika * Sree Lakshmi as Anjana * Illikettu Namboothiri as Sathyaseelan

Seasons 3 and 4 (2017 – 2019)

* Darshana Das as Gayathri Ganeshan (Podimol) * Rini Raj as Balachandrika Abhiram

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

* *

as Commissioner Abhiram

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

*Baby Kezhiya as Muthu *

Shalu Menon Shalu may refer to: *Shalu (sari), regional variant of the sari from Banaras (Varanasi), India *Shalu Monastery, or Ṣalu Monastery, in Shigatse, Tibet *Shalu District Shalu District (; lit: Sand Deer) is a suburban district in central Taic ...

as Kanya Jayan * * *Kiran Iyer as Ganeshan *Santhosh Kurup as Ret Prof. Nathan *Giridhar as Sreekanth *Srihari as Kunju Shekharan *

as Shekharan's mother *

as Jagadhamba *Soniya Baiju Kottarakkara as Kaipatoor Kanaka *Anoop Sivasenan as Sukeshan *Niya as Karthika Balachandran *Soorya Praveen as Ganga Sukeshan *Bindu Ramakrishnan as Sukeshan's mother * Babu Annur as Sukesan's father

Awards

;8th ASIANET TELEVISION AWARDS 2015 * Best Serial - Karuthamuthu * Best Actor -

* Best Debut Male - Richard * Best Debut Female - Premi Vishwanth * Best Debut Female (special jury) - Lekshmipriya * Best Actor in a Negative role (special jury) - Srihari * Best Actress in a Negative role (special jury) - Archana Suseelan * Best Director - Praveen Kadakkavoor * Best Screenplay - Pradeep Panicker * Best Character Actor - Santosh Kurup * Best Character Actress (special jury) - Dr.Sharmila * Best Actor in a Humorous role (special jury) - Jayakumar ;9th ASIANET TELEVISION AWARDS 2016 * Most Popular Serial - Karuthamuthu * Life Time Achievement award -

* Best Actor -

* Best Child actor -

* Best Director - Praveen Kadakkavoor * Best Screenplay - Pradeep Panicker * Best Character actor - Santosh Kurup * Best Character actor (Special Jury) - Giridhar * Best Character actress -

* Best Actress in a Negative role - Archana Suseelan * Most Popular Actress (Special Jury) - Lekshmipriya * Best Script - Pradeep Panicker * Best Actor in a Humorous role - Jayakumar ;10th ASIANET TELEVISION AWARDS 2017 * Best Director - Praveen Kadakkavoor * Best Actress in a Negative role - Archana Suseelan * Best Audiography - Sreejith Vj ;11th ASIANET TELEVISION AWARDS 2018 * Most Popular Actress - Darshana Das * Best Video Grapher - B. Kumar * Best Character actor - Santosh Kurup

Adaptations

References

External links

* {{Asianet programs Indian television series Indian television soap operas Serial drama television series 2014 Indian television series debuts Malayalam-language television shows Indian drama television series Asianet (TV channel) original programming