This article possibly contains original research .(September 2017) |
Tamil television soap opera or Tamil serials are a genre of Tamil-language television produced in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. [1] All major TV networks in India [2] produce a variety of drama series including family, [3] comedy, romance, history stories, horror, devotional, fantasy [4] stories and many others.
Tamil serial started to broadcast television series in the 1990s. [5] Today's format of 100–500 episodes started in the 2000s. The television series industry has played a pivotal role in increasing Tamil popularity in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. They are also broadcast in other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and North America.
They are usually shown on Tamil television channels and start at 12 pm to 3 pm (afternoon), 6 pm to 8 pm (evening) and 8 pm to 11 pm (primetime and night). [6] A series will run for about 3 or 4 years. It may air 5 or 6 episodes a week, the pattern usually being Monday through Friday or Monday through Saturday.
A channel usually airs 5 to 15 soap operas simultaneously at any given time.[ citation needed ][ circular reference ] Because they attract the most viewers, each channel competes for the most popular stars.
Tamil television serials are usually helmed by one director, written by one screenwriter, thus having a distinct directing style and language, unlike American television series, where often several directors and writers work together. [7] Series are likely to have only one season, with 1–500 or 1–1000 episodes. Mini series may be longer, with 100 to 200 episodes, but they also run for only one season.
The broadcast time for flagship dramas is 12 pm - 3 pm to 6 pm - 11 pm, with episodes on 5 to 6 consecutive nights : Monday–Friday or Monday–Saturday and weekends. Different dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks, Sun TV, [8] STAR Vijay, [9] Kalaignar TV, Colors Tamil, Zee Tamizh, Jaya TV, Raj TV, Polimer TV, Puthuyugam TV, Vendhar TV, Mega TV, Makkal TV, DD Podhigai, Shakthi TV, Vasantham TV, MediaCorp Vasantham, Astro Vaanavil, TV2 and Deepam TV. Dramas in prime slots are in the telenovella format, rarely running over 500 episodes.
The broadcast time for flagship dramas is 22:00 to 23:00, with episodes on Four consecutive nights: Mondays to Thursday, Friday, and weekends. Different dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks, MediaCorp Vasantham, Astro Vaanavil and Astro Vinmeen HD. Series are likely to have one to three season, with 1–80 episodes. Mini series may be longer, with 1 to 16 episodes, they also run for one to three season.
Some popular contemporary dramas include: Vettai , Nijangal , Vettai: Pledged to Hunt, Sundharam Kudumpathinar, Annamalai , Ragasiyam , Vetri .
Series set in contemporary times usually run for one season, for 100–1000 episodes of 22 minutes. They are often centered on a family story, with love ties and relationships being in the focus. Characters are mostly idealised, with Tamil female protagonists described as the ideal women, and can focus on ethics and social issues in rural areas. The daily dramas are also usually set in contemporary times, describing a family conflict or family relationships, centered on Tamil women, who sacrifice themselves for family happiness.
Some popular contemporary dramas include: Shakthi, Chiti , [10] Anandham , Kalki , Kasalavu Nesam , Annamalai , [11] Metti Oli , Thangam , Thirumathi Selvam , Deivamagal , Kolangal , Azhagi , Athipookal , Uyirmei , Sembaruthi , Gayathri , Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu , Thendral , Kana Kaanum Kaalangal , Office , Madhurai, Marmadesam and Kadhalikka Neramillai .
Theme music and background music sets the overall tone of the Tamil series. Most series will start off with one to three minutes of opening theme music during the opening credits. Other series will have at the very least a catchy melody in the beginning, displaying the drama's name that lasts a few seconds, and then one to two minutes of ending theme background music during the closing credits. Background music is placed and used at strategic points of the episode to set the mood of that particular show.
Original soundtracks (OSTs) are made specifically for each series and play an important role in Tamil dramas (mostly in Singapore and Malaysia). They are generally recorded by professional playback singers and tend to enhance the reputation and popularity of dramas. OSTs help to heighten a situation, accentuate a mood, provide relief, or serve as background to an interior monologue.
They are often mass-produced under large production banners, with companies like AVM Productions, Saregama, Radaan Mediaworks, Vikatan Televistas, Balaji Telefilms and In House Productions, running different language versions of the same serial on different television networks or channels.
Tamil TV soap operas are popular overseas in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. They are also broadcast in other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. The popularity of Tamil TV soap operas in India, European and the US markets is on the rise.[ citation needed ] Tamil serials are also dubbed in Malayalam, Telugu, Sinhalese and English and most serials air with English, Sinhalese and Malay subtitles.
In the Indian state of Kerala, Tamil series are popular and broadcast at prime time, Kolangal and Anandham were aired on Surya TV. Some Tamil series have also been remade into Malayalam versions such as Parvathi in 2002 which was a remake of the serial Chithi and Nilavilakku a remake of Thirumathi Selvam . Surya TV and Asianet Plus are examples of Malayalam television networks that airs Tamil series.
In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil series have gained popularity and the Tamil series, Chithi, Kolangal, Anandham, Selvi, Arasi, Annamalai, Vasantham, Surya, Pasam, Chellamay , Kalyanam and Lakshmi were aired on Gemini TV, RVS TV, Zee Telugu and Vanitha TV. Some Tamil series have also been remade into Telugu language versions such as Devatha which was a remake of the serial Thirumathi Selvam, Aparanji a remake of Thangam, Sravani Subramanyam a remake of Thendral and Jabilamma a remake of Deivamagal .
Tamil series have also been remade into Kannada versions such as Rangoli was a remake of the serial Kolangal, Chikamma a remake of Chithi, Bangara a remake of Thangam, Thangaali a remake of Thendral, Mangalya a remake of Metti Oli and Chandra Chakori a remake of Deivamagal. The Udaya TV air Tamil series remade in the Kannada language.
Tamil series have also been remade into Marathi. The Chennai based Sun TV group is going to start a Marathi GEC named as Sun Marathi in January 2021. It will be Sun group's fourth entry in South Indian market. Many shows like Nandini, Maya, Roja, Arundhati will be dubbed in Marathi language to reach towards peoples of Maharastra.
In Sri Lanka Tamil channels air Tamil series, and also dub and subtitle in the Sinhalese language. The first Tamil Language serial to be dubbed in Sinhalese was Chithi. Tamil television series are extremely popular in Sri Lanka, with ratings higher than the traditional Tamil Nadu TV series that Sri Lankan watched.[ citation needed ] Most Tamil serial airs in Tamil language with Sinhalese subtitle.
In Singapore and Malaysia Tamil Channel airs Tamil Series and subtitle in the English language. Among the most popular series are Vettai, Nijangal , Ennuyire, Annamalai, Ragasiyam and Neeya.
Tamil Series and television shows are also popular among the Tamil diaspora. Tamil television shows are aired on certain cable television channels in various countries such as the Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Middle East, North Africa, Réunion, South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji, Guyana, Burma, Trinidad and Tobago, the French West Indies, Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States.
An episode of a popular Tamil television drama from the 2010s is usually between 30 and 60 minutes in length (excluding advertisements), which is much longer than a typical episode of an Indian or Western European series.
This is a list of the longest-running Tamil Language television series, ordered by number of episodes the show has aired. This list includes only programs aired five years and above.
Series shaded in light blue are currently in production. |
Title | First broadcast | Last broadcast | Episodes | Network(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
வள்ளி Valli | 17 December 2012 | 14 September 2019 | 1961 | Sun TV |
சந்திரலேகா Chandralekha | 6 October 2014 | Present | 1933 | Sun TV |
கல்யாணபரிசு Kalyana Parisu | 10 February 2014 | 27 March 2020 | 1840 | Sun TV |
சரவணன் மீனாட்சி Saravanan Meenatchi | 7 November 2011 | 17 August 2018 | 1765 | Vijay TV |
வாணி ராணி Vani Rani | 21 January 2013 | 8 December 2018 | 1743 | Sun TV |
கோலங்கள் Kolangal | 29 May 2003 | 4 December 2009 | 1533 | Sun TV |
கஸ்தூரி Kasthuri | 21 August 2006 | 31 August 2012 | 1532 | Sun TV |
தெய்வமகள் Deivamagal | 25 March 2013 | 17 February 2018 | 1466 | Sun TV |
திருமதி செல்வம் Thirumathi Selvam | 5 November 2007 | 22 March 2013 | 1360 | Sun TV |
நாதஸ்வரம் Nadhaswaram | 19 April 2010 | 9 May 2015 | 1356 | Sun TV |
தென்றல் Thendral | 7 December 2009 | 17 January 2015 | 1340 | Sun TV |
வம்சம் | 10 June 2013 | 18 November 2017 | 1338 | Sun Tv |
முந்தானை முடிச்சு | 26 April 2010 | 4 April 2015 | 1325 | Sun Tv |
பிரியமானவள் | 19 January 2015 | 11 May 2019 | 1315 | Sun Tv |
ஆனந்தம் | 24 November 2003 | 27 February 2009 | 1297 | Sun TV |
அத்திப்பூக்கள் | 3 December 2007 | 14 December 2012 | 1272 | Sun TV |
இளவரசி | 19 January 2010 | 1 November 2014 | 1263 | Sun Tv |
பொம்மலட்டம் | 15 October 2012 | 22 October 2016 | 1150 | Sun Tv |
தாமரை | 3 November 2014 | 4 August 2018 | 1129 | Sun TV |
வசந்தம் Vasantham | 3 September 2007 | 27 January 2012 | 1109 | Sun Tv |
மரகத வீணை | 27 January 2014 | 28 September 2017 | 1102 | Sun Tv |
அழகி | 10 October 2011 | 4 March 2016 | 1101 | Sun Tv |
மகள் | 8 October 2007 | 14 October 2011 | 1035 | Sun Tv |
Channels:
Deivamagal is an Indian Tamil-language soap opera starring Krishna and Vani Bhojan. It was broadcast on Sun TV initially from Monday to Friday and later extended to Saturday at 8 PM from 25 March 2013 to 17 February 2018 for 1,466 episodes. The show replaced S. Kumaran's successful soap, Thirumathi Selvam and replaced by Nayagi. Deivamagal is currently retelecasting in Kalaignar TV from March,1 2021 at 7 PM
Puthu Kavithai is a 2013 Tamil language soap opera starring Maheswari, Dinesh, Feroz Khan, Saberna. It aired on Vijay TV from 16 December 2013 to 29 May 2015 on Monday through Friday at 6:30PM (IST) for 361 Episodes. The show was produced by Rightfeel Productions and D. Parthasarathy and was directed by D. Parthasarathy. It is a story of a woman (Maheswari) who will go to any length fight for her right.
Chellamadi Nee Enakku is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language soap opera that was aired on Sun TV. The show premiered on 11 December 2006. It aired Start this December 11, 2006 to September 5, 2008 Monday through Friday. The show stars Ajay Kapoor, Gayathri Priya, Sri Devi, Krithiga, Vadivukkarasi and Devi Priya.
Bharathi Kannamma is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired on Vendhar TV from 1 June 2014 to 3 July 2015 on Monday through Friday at 07:30PM IST for 219 episodes.
Office is a 2013-2015 Indian Tamil-language work place comedy television series starring Karthik Raj, Shruthi Raj, Vishnu, Madhumila, Udhayabhanu Maheswaran, Suzane George, Sidharth and Anbazhagan. The series is directed by Ram Vinayak and produced by K. J. Ganesh.
Idhayam is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language soap opera on Sun TV. It is a prime-time serial. The show was broadcast from 10 August 2009 to 3 February 2012 at 7:30PM (IST) and 10:00PM (IST) for 627 episodes.
Ramanujar is an Indian Tamil historical soap opera, starring Gowsik, Chanthirakanth, Gayathiri and Lakshmiraj. It aired Monday through Friday on Kalaignar TV from 1 June 2015 to 27 January 2017 at 7:30PM IST for 433 episodes. It had been receiving the highest ratings of Tamil serials and received high praising from viewers.
Mundhanai Mudichu is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired on Sun TV. The show premiered from 26 April 2010 to 4 April 2015 for 1,325 episodes. It aired Monday through Saturday at 6:00PM IST. The show stars Delhi Kumar, Shree Durga, Manoharan Krishnan, Rani and Hemalatha
Rajakumari is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired on Sun TV from 28 January 2013 to 7 June 2013 for 94 episodes. The show premiered on Monday January 2013. It aired Monday through Friday at 8:30pm IST. The show starring by Ramya Krishnan, Sarath Babu, Geetha, Nalini and Menaka.
Gokulathil Seethai is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language soap opera starring Sanghavi, Babloo Prithiveeraj, Delhi Kumar and Sulakshana. It replaced Attam Pattam and it broadcast on Kalaignar TV from on 22 September 2008 to 23 October 2009. This is the series through which Sanghavi made her debut into the television.
Uravugal (transl. Relationships) is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired on Sun TV. The show premiered on 1 June 2009. The show starring by Archana Krishnappa, Bhavana, Shreekumar, Rajkanth and Durga. The series also reunited Bhavana, Shreekumar and Rajkanth, who previously starred together three years before on Megala (2007-2010). The show was directed by Balaji Yadav, Shiva K. and S. Haribabu. The show is produced by San Media Ltd. The show last aired on 12 October 2012 and ended with 854 episodes. It also airs in Sri Lanka Tamil Channel on Vasantham TV.
Mella Thiranthathu Kathavu is a 2015-2017 Tamil language soap opera that aired on Zee Tamil. The show premiered on 2 November 2015 to 27 October 2017 with 511 episodes. It starring Ashwanth Ashokkumar and Lisha with Venkat Renganathan, Gayathri Yuvraaj and Anu Sulash
Uthiri Pookal is a 2011 Tamil-language soap opera that aired on Sun TV from 14 November 2011 to 4 October 2013 on Monday through Friday at 06:30PM (IST) for 476 episodes. It had been receiving the highest ratings of Tamil serials and received high praising from viewers.
Madhavi is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language soap opera starring Sara, Seenu, Bhavana, Nalini, Subhalekha Sudhakar and Vandhana and Vanitha Krishnachandran that aired on Sun TV for 487 episodes
Magal is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language morning soap opera that aired Monday through Friday on Sun TV from 8 October 2007 to 14 October 2011 for 1015 episodes. It was highly praised in TRP ratings of Tamil serials. This show starred Meenakumari, Chandra Lakshman, Sulakshana, Kamalesh, Varalakshmi and Rishi among others. It was produced by Akash Khurana of Nimbus Television and directed by Francis Bapu. It also aired in Sri Lanka on the Tamil channel Vasantham TV.
Annamalai is an Indian Tamil-language historical soap opera that aired on MediaCorp Vasantham. The series' first season was aired from 22 December 2014 to 31 March 2015 every Monday to Thursday at 10:00PM SST for 48 episodes.
Annamalai 3 is an Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired Monday through Thursday on MediaCorp Vasantham from 28 December 2015 to 31 March 2016 at 10:30PM SST for 52 episodes.
Neeli is a 2016 Indian-Tamil-language soap opera starring Chavi, Naveen, Niranjani and Kavitha Gowda. It aired on Vijay TV. The show is launched on 19 December 2016 and ended with 260 Episodes. The show is an adaptation of the Suvarna TV serial Neeli. It also airs in Sri Lanka Tamil Channel on Shakthi TV from 8 May 2017.