Synopsis
Kadamattathu Kathanar (an oriental Syriac priest of Kadamattom Church) also known as Kadamattathachan (Father Kadamattom) is a legendary priest from the 9th century AD who is believed to have possessed supernatural powers and whose legends are closely related to the beginning of the Kadamattom Church, one of the oldest church buildings that still exists in Kerala the land of Saint Thomas Christians.
Despite having learned sorcery from a mysterious and powerful source, Kathanar performed most of his feats by deriving power directly from God, through a direct prayer, invoking the Holy Spirit. This made him invulnerable to most sorcerers of the era.
The series depicts the myriad exorcisms of ghosts and other evil spirits he performed and the magical challenges he had to face along the way from other evil sorcerers. The most famous among them revolves around a traditional family in Kerala which was haunted by Kalliyankattu Neeli, a vampiric Yakshi. The family seeks the help of Kadamattathu Kathanar, a Christian priest who was believed to have supernatural powers to gage them out of the problems happening around the family. [3]
Plot
Story 1 – The Saga of Kalliyankattu Neeli (Episodes 1–21,25-27)
This story revolves around a traditional family Vamanam Tharavadu in Kerala which is haunted by a Yakshi, a vampire, which sports multiple appearances and displays tremendous power compared to ordinary ghosts, and kills some of the family members of Vaamanam Tharavadu and terrorising the whole village.Kathanar arrives and subdues Neeli and makes her recite her story.Kathanar pities her and settles her then and there as a demi-goddess for the villages, giving her another chance at earthly salvation.
Story 2 – War With Chadayan (Episodes 20–44)
Chadayan, a student as well as the adopted son of Lada guru turns evil under the influence of a petty sorceress Durgamma and acquires power by murdering the Guru, imprisoning his son Nathan, and laying his hands on the treasure of 13 ancient grimoires that their family traditionally protected. The contents of the grimoires supposedly promise ultimately godlike powers to him on sacrificing young virgins who were 18 years old, born of each of the 27 nakshatras said in the 13 grimoires.Kathanar defeated Chadayan in a fierce and prolonged battle, at the end of which Chadayan is left blind with his castle crumbling down on him. Chadayan's demi-god of worship reappears and grants him his vision back.
Story 3 – The Saga Of Kumkumathu Kovilakam (Episodes 43–51)
The historic Kumkumathu Kovilakam is haunted by a murderous evil spirit which plays upon the deep desires and fears of the members. Kathanar arrived and exorcises the ghost.
Story 4 – Bhanu's Tricky Game Of Pakida (Episodes 51–59)
We are introduced to the courtesan Bhanu, the rich mistress of Ettukettu, who demands that anybody defeat her in a game of dice or Pakida in order to sleep with her. She has been trapping numerous men that fall for her heavenly beauty into servitude using a pair of enchanted dice that do her bidding even after being cast.Kathanar arrives at the place and defeated Bhanu
Story 5 – Kulamanamadathil Potti Against Kathanar (Episodes 59–66)
Potti visits Kathanar and asks him to come to his home after few days. He took Bhanu to his own home and asked her to live harmony with his other three wives. He also assured her that he will destroy kathanar.Potti send a demon girl and male ghost in kadamattom but both were destroyed by kathanar.Kathanar went to Pottis house as guest and Potti try to insult him in many ways, but he teach potti a lesson. Potti and Bhanu seeks forgiveness from Kathanar. Kathanar counsels both Potti and Bhanu, and he left from there.
Story 6 – Odiyan's Killing Spree (Episodes 66–68)
Passengers has been attacked and killed by Odiyan in Kuravanmedu village.Odiyan is a spirit who can transform in to bull.Kathanar subdues the Odiyan who had been terrorising the village of Kuravanmedu.
Story 7 – Evil Spirit In Vadakkan Veedu (Episodes 68-79)
Vadakkan Veedu members were shocked after the death of two children from their family.Kathanar visits Vadakkan Veedu and met the ghost Thirumala who wants to kill the family members as revenge for her death done by their family head years ago. kathanar defeated her and left the tharavadu on a happy note.
Story 8 – Ghosts In Chambakkara Village (Episodes 79-89)
The story revolves around Chambakkara village which is a seashore village where majority are working as fishermen and some are owners whose under this fishermen work.Kathanar becomes villagers favorite after he changed bad behaviours of some people in the villages.Meanwhile, a female ghost Wandering at the village in night killing multiple people.A group of fishermen were attacked by a ghost of a Persian couple.Kathanar finally save the villagers by destroying female ghost as well as the ghost of Persion couple.
Story 9 – Mariyamma's Dilemma (Episodes 89-94)
Mariyamma worries about the gold stolen which she kept for her daughter Kochuthresia's marriage.kathanar visits recover the gold from Luka.Mariyamma and kochuthresia try to commit suicide but they were stopped by a boy who later reveal to be Jesus christ.Mariyamma seek forgiveness from god and kathanar returned her gold.Kochuthresia and Agasthya engaged and later kathanar teaches agasthya's arrogant father chacko a lesson and he apologised to kathanar.
Story 10 – Nicholas Family in Haunted Mansion (Episodes 95-119)
Nicholas buys a mansion which is haunted.His son Alan was killed by a spirit from a doll.The family moved to mansion where supernatural events started happening.Kathanar finally learnt that the main spirit is the family servant Ettichan.He destroyed all the spirits including Ettichan.Kathanar inform the family that the property is earlier an cremation ground and mansion was built on it.kathanar left from the mansion and all the spirits move to the sky to attain peace.Alan's spirit felt sad to see the happy reunion of the family since he cannot join them forever.
Story 11 – The Haunted Eethenga Tharavadu (Episodes 119-130)
Eli Chettathy and her three daughters moved to the Eethenga Tharavadu where the ghosts started attacking the family members.kathanar arrives and destroys the ghosts Nani and Manikyan.The family members thanked kathanar and all the problems in Eethenga Tharavadu came to end.
Story 12 – A Conspiracy against Kathanar (Episodes 131-157)
Chadayan returns and team up with Vettiyala Vezhala and his assistant Mandhana to destroy Kathanar.They release Neeli's good power and made her evil again.Together they murder some villagers along with some family member of vaamanam tharavadu.Kathanar finally destroyed them and given good powers to Neeli and warn her to be careful.
The Curse of Thripangottu Kovilakkam (episodes 187–202)
Lord Surya Varma, the young heir of the Thripangottu Kovilakkam, is missing. Worried, his family calls for a magician, who is a fraudster in guise, to resolve their problems. But the magician invites more trouble, leading to the haunting of an evil entity who had a past with the family's ancestor decades ago. So the family calls for Kathannar to rid off their issues and rescue back their son.
With the help of Kalidasan, another famed sorcerer and priest, Kathannar tries to find the source of the problems and discovers that the family's curse begins with their ancestor Lord Udaya Varma. Udaya Varma lusted for a commoner girl Kalyani by feigning love. Their relationship gets cozy and Kalyani ends up pregnant. Eventually, she is flatly rejected by Udaya Varma but vows revenge. An enraged Udaya Varma kills Kalyani and her father. Kalyani returns as an evil spirit and kills Udaya Varma but is subdued by a powerful sorcerer. She is released by another demonic entity, who had actually kidnapped the prince Surya Varma during his religious expedition
The entity along with Kalyani's spirit decide to kill Surya Varma and absorb his soul and Kalyani's to become more powerful. Kathannar and Kalidasan locate the demon's hideout and rescue Surya Varma. They devise a plan to capture the two evil spirits and successfully subdue them. The demon entity is exorcized, while the spirit of Kalyani is subdued and blessed as a goddess among the serpents at the Sarpakavu.
The prince is rescued and reunited with his family by both sorcerers. Kalidasan expresses his gratitude to Kathannar and bids a teary farewell and then Kathannar embarks on his next mission.
Vampire of Chandanamangalathu Tharavadu (episodes 202–217)
Jagathan Thambi and his family, which consists of his wife Satyabhama, sisters Unnimaya & Parvati and his grandmother, move to their ancestral home Chandanamangalathu Tharavadu which is famed for its dark past. The family settle in and begin cleaning up the home that had been desolate for decades. Thambi hires a group of men to repair and rearrange the house and its surroundings. During their work, the men unearth a sealed brass pot and accidentally release an evil spirit. Here begins trouble for the family at Chandanamangalathu Tharavadu.
The spirit is of Gauri, a maidservant's daughter who was in love with the young male heir of the house's previous occupants decades ago. After being mercilessly killed by the family, she returned as a vengeful spirit and tormented the family and village but was subdued and exorcised by a powerful sorcerer in a brass pot. After being released in the present time, she kills and possesses Unnimaya and subsequently kills the worker men. Gauri starts causing supernatural attacks to the family members with the intent of killing them.
Devastated, the family calls for Kathannar, who successfully subdues and destroys the evil spirit in an intense supernatural battle. With this, Kathannar assures the family that Jagathan Thambi and Satyabhama would be soon blessed with a child.
Sequels
Two sequels to the series were aired, titled Kathanar Kadamattathu Kathanar (2008) on Jaihind TV and Kadamattathachan (2010) on Surya TV. [6] Actor Prakash Paul revealed that the 2008 version of the series, aired on Jaihind TV, led to severe financial losses. The channel had low viewership at the time, and many were unaware of its existence. Although payments were initially prompt, the channel eventually ran out of funds, forcing Paul to continue production without further financial support. He described this decision as a major setback and a source of lasting debt. [7]
In June 2024, actor Prakash Paul confirmed that a new sequel to the original series is in development. The upcoming project will not be a remake but will feature an aged version of Kadamattathu Kathanar returning to the present era. Paul stated that the continued popularity of the original series, especially through annual re-telecasts on Asianet Plus, inspired the idea for the new version. [8]
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