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Kudumbavilakku
കുടുംബവിളക്ക് – Journey of a Homemaker
Genre	Drama Family drama
Created by	Sangeetha Mohan (episodes 1–88) Anil Baas (episodes 89–1204)
Based on	Sreemoyee
Developed by	Gireesh Gramika
Written by	Sreenidhi S.S ( season 2)
Story by	Leena Gangopadhyay
Directed by	Sunil Kariattukara/Manju Dharman/Ruggu Ratheesh
Starring	Meera Vasudevan
Theme music composer	Shyam Dharman
Opening theme	"Udayathin Munnpe Nee Pennpoovee"
Composers	Shyam Dharman Rajeev Attukal Ramesh Narayan (Lyrics)
Country of origin	India
Original language	Malayalam
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	1204
Production
Executive producer	Sanjeev Sajji
Producer	Chitra Shenoy
Cinematography	A. V. Arun Ravan (episodes 1–89) Vipin Puthiyankam (episodes 90–1204)
Editor	Jishnu S. Kuryathi
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	Good Company Productions
Original release
Network	Asianet
Release	27 January 2020 (2020-01-27) – 3 August 2024 (2024-08-03)
Related
Sreemoyee Baakiyalakshmi Anupamaa

Kudumbavilakku (transl. Lamp of the Family) is an Indian Malayalam-language soap opera drama television series. The show premiered on Asianet and also streams on Disney+ Hotstar. Meera Vasudevan portrays the lead role in the series, returning to television after thirteen years. The first season of the show aired from 27 January 2020 to 1 December 2023. The second season aired from 4 December 2023 to 3 August 2024.

The series is produced by Chitra Shenoy under Good Company Productions. It is an official remake of the Bengali TV series Sreemoyee. The show is among the longest-ran soap opera in Malayalam television.

Series overview

Plot

Season 1

The show centers on Sumithra Menon, a Malayalee homemaker, and her family. Sumithra is a dedicated wife, mother, and daughter-in-law who always puts her family first. She is married to Siddharth Menon, with whom she has three children: Anirudh, a doctor, Pratheesh, an aspiring musician, and Sheetal, a college student. They all live together with Siddharth’s parents, Shivadas and Saraswati.

Siddharth, however, falls in love with his Junior Officer, Vedhika, and eventually divorces Sumithra to marry her. Despite the emotional pain, Sumithra gradually finds her self-worth and starts to rebuild her life. With the support of her family and friend Rohit, she starts a business called "Sumithra’s," which grows into a successful venture. Throughout this period, Vedhika causes further trouble, but Sumithra perseveres, and her family, except for Saraswati, starts to recognize her value.

Siddharth’s life with Vedhika becomes strained, and he eventually files for divorce, hoping to remarry Sumithra. However, Sumithra marries her old classmate and friend, Rohit. Vedhika opposes the divorce at first, but later, she is diagnosed with cancer. Abandoned by Siddharth, she is taken in by Sumithra, and they eventually form a friendship. Vedhika recovers from her illness, while Siddharth, after an accident, is left paralyzed. Sumithra and her family care for him until he begins to recover.

The family faces more challenges, including the death of Shivadas from heart failure. Pratheesh and his wife Sanjana move to Chennai, and Ananya relocates abroad with Anirudh. Vedhika later reconnects with her ex-husband, Sampath, and they remarry. Siddharth, now alone, leaves Sreenilayam to find work, leaving Saraswati behind. Saraswati’s daughter, Saranya, takes her in, but tensions arise with Saranya’s husband, leading Saraswati to an old age home.

The season concludes with Sumithra, Rohit, and their daughter Pooja beginning a new chapter in life, as they set off on a trip together.

Season 2

The show takes a six-year leap after Sumithra is in a coma due to an accident that also killed her husband, Rohit. She wakes up and learns her mother has passed away, and Rohit’s sister, Ranjitha, has taken over his property. Ranjitha wants her son to marry Pooja, but Pooja is in love with Appu. Anirudh and Ananya return to Kerala to save their marriage, while Pratheesh is released from jail after being accused of his wife’s murder. Sumithra uncovers Ranjitha’s fraud and reclaims Rohit’s property. In the end, Sumithra chooses to remain single, cherishing her memories of Rohit, while Pooja marries Appu. The series concludes with Sumithra at peace with her family and memories in Sreenilayam.

Cast

Main

• Meera Vasudevan as Sumithra – Rohit's widow ;Savithri's daughter; Deepu's sister; Sidharth's ex-wife; Anirudh, Pratheesh and Sheethal's mother; Pooja's step-mother; Swara's grandmother. (2020–2024)
• Krishnakumar Menon as Sidharth "Sidhu" Menon – Shivdas and Saraswathi's son; Sharanya's brother; Sumithra and Vedika's ex-husband; Anirudh, Pratheesh and Sheethal's father; Swara's grandfather. (2020-2024)
• Shwetha Venkat (Episode 1 to 58)/ Ameya Nair (Episode 58 to 110)/ Saranya Anand(Episode 111 to 1003) as Vedika – Vasumati's daughter; Siddharth's ex-wife; Sampath's wife; Neerav's mother
• F. J. Tharakan as Shivadas Menon – Saraswathi's husband; Sidharth and Sharanya's father; Anirudh, Pratheesh and Sheetal's grandfather; Swara's great-grandfather. (2020–2023) (Dead)
• Devi Menon as Saraswathi Menon – Shivdas's widow; Sidharth and Sharanya's mother; Anirudh, Pratheesh and Sheetal's grandmother; Sumithra's and Vedhika's Ex-Mother-in-law; Swara's great-grandmother. (2020-2024)
• Dr. Shaju Sam as Rohit Gopal – Ranjitha's brother; Sumithra's classmate and husband; Pooja's father; Anirudh, Pratheesh and Sheetal's step-father; Swara's step-grandfather. (2021–2023) (Dead)
• Vaishnavi Sai Kumar as Ranjitha – Rohit's sister; Aravindhan's wife; Pankaj's mother. (2023–2024)

Recurring

• Sreejith Vijay / Anand Narayan as Dr. Anirudh Menon – Sumithra and Sidharth's elder son; Rohit's step-son; Pratheesh and Sheetal's brother; Pooja's step-brother; Ananya's husband; Swara's adoptive father. (2020; 2024) / (2020–2023)
• Athira Madhav / Ashwathy Ash/ Lekshmi Balagopal as Dr. Ananya Menon – Prema's daughter; Anirudh's wife; Swara's adoptive mother. (2020–2021) / (2021–2024)/ (2024)
• Noobin Johny as Pratheesh Menon – Sumithra and Sidharth's younger son; Rohit's step-son; Anirudh and Sheetal's brother; Pooja's step-brother; Sanjana's widower; Swara's father. (2020–2024)
• Reshma Nandu as Sanjana Menon – Ramakrishnan's daughter; Susheela's step-daughter; Maneesh's widow; Pratheesh's wife; Swara's mother. (2020–2023) (Dead)
• Parvathi Vijay / Amritha Nair / Sreelakshmi Sreekumar as Sheetal Menon – Sumithra and Sidharth's daughter; Rohit's step-daughter; Anirudh and Pratheesh's sister; Pooja's step-sister; Sachin's wife. (2020) / (2020–2021) / (2021–2024)
• Gouri Prakash / Aiswarya Unni / Varsha Vinod / Neema Rose as Pooja Gopal – Rohit's daughter; Sumithra's step-daughter; Anirudh, Pratheesh and Sheetal's step-sister; Jishnu's wife; Deepu and Chithra's daughter-in-law (2021–2022) / (2023–2024)
• Anoop Soorya as Sachin – Sheetal's husband. (2024)
• Hari as Deepankuran aka Deepu – Savithri's son; Sumithra's brother; Chithra's husband; Jishnu's father; Pooja's father-in-law. (2020–2024)
• Parvathy Raveendran as Chitra – Deepu's wife; Jishnu's mother; Pooja's mother-in-law. (2020–2024)
• Vishwa R as Jishnu – Chitra and Deepu's son; Anirudh, Pratheesh and Sheetal's cousin; Pooja's step-cousin. (2023–2024)
  • Akhil as Young Jishnu (2020)
• Ziva Vivin / Mehak as Swara Menon – Sanjana and Pratheesh's daughter; Ananya and Anirudh's adopted daughter. (2023) / (2023–2024)
• Krishna as Premajam – Ananya's mother; Swara's adoptive grandmother. (2020–2024)
• Shibu Laban as Aravindhan – Ranjitha's husband; Pankaj's father. (2023–2024)
• Anjusree Bhadran as Latha –premaja's house help, Swara's Nani (2023–2024)
• Ashwathy Prabha as Seema – Sumitra's nurse. (2023)
• Kalidasan as Pankaj Aravindan – Rajitha and Aravind's son; Pooja's cousin (2023–2024)
• Kishore as Paramashivam (2023-2024)
• Sunitha as Savithri – Sumithra and Deepu's mother; Anirudh, Pratheesh, Sheethal and Jishnu's grandmother; Pooja's step-grandmother; Swara's great-grandmother. (2020–2023) (Dead)
• Fawaz Zayani (2020-2023) as Sampath – Vedika's husband; Neerav's father
• Manoj Nair (Episode 1 to 42)/ Sumesh Surendran as Sreekumar – Sharanya's husband; Nileena's former love interest. (2020–2023)
• Sindhu Varma (Episode 1 only)/ Manju Satheesh as Saranya Menon – Shivadas and Saraswathi's daughter; Sidharth's sister; Sreemukar's wife. (2020–2023)
• Manju Vijeesh as Mallika – Sreenilayam family's domestic help (2020–2023)
• Padmakumar as CI Narayanan Kutty – Circle Inspector of Police
• Bindhu Pankaj as Nileena Bhaskar – Sumithra's best friend since college; Shreekumar's former love interest
• Jithu Venugopal as Anoop – a goon who works for Mahendran
• Shahnu / Amrutha S Ganesh as Dr. Indraja – Anirudh's superior
• Angeline Mariya – Maya
• Firosh Mohan as Naveen – Vedika's friend
• Rachana as Sumi, Sumithra's office staff at Sumithra's
• Aneesh Kailas as Aneesh, Vedika's office staff at Vasgo Exports
• Pathu Seena as Karthika, Vedika's office staff at Vasgo Exports
• K. P. A. C. Saji / Amboori Jayan as Ramakrishnan – Sanjana's father; Bhagya's grandfather.
• Devi Chandana as Susheela – Ramakrishnan's second wife; Sanjana's step-mother; Bhagya's step-grandmother.
• Hari as Vivek – Rohith's friend
• Swathi Thara as DCP Chandralekha – IPS officer
• Renjusha Menon as SI Nirmala
• Sruthisha Nair as Shilpa – Member of Pratheesh's band who loves him
• Sreerang Shine as Neerav – Sampath and Vedika's son
• Geetha Nair as Vasumati – Vedika's mother; Neerav's grandmother
• Shobi Thilakan as Adv. Vasudevan – Sumithra and Siddharth's divorce lawyer
• Sarath Sreehari as Pianist – Pratheesh's bandmate
• Divya Sreedhar as Preetha's mother
• Saju Kodiyan as Rev. Francis Mupliyanthadathil – Sheethal's school principal
• Vanchiyoor Praveen Kumar as Udayabhanu – Shivadas's colleague who works at a resort
• Jeevan Gopal as Jithin Raj – A fraudster and drug addict who wants to marry Sheetal
• Alif Muhammed as Maneesh – Sanjana's first husband (Dead)
• Sheelasree as Maneesh's mother
• Maria Juliana as Deepa
• Sivaji Guruvayoor as Ananthan Vaidyar

Guest appearances

• Innocent as the chief guest at the Mother's Day Competition at Sheetal's school (episodes 5 and 6)
• Aju Varghese as himself, for the inauguration of Sumithra's shop (Episode 205)
• Neena Kurup as Kanaka ( episode 890)

Reception

The show was launched on 27 January 2020 at 7.30 PM. After COVID-19 related break show began airing at 8.00 PM from 15 June 2020. The show maintained good TRP for over 3 years. The show was shifted to 10.00 PM from 20 November 2023 for climax episodes. But due to its high rating in the slot, the channel decided to extend the show by starting a new season from 4 December 2023 with taking a 6 years leap in the story and with a slight new cast. On March 11 2024, the show was shifted to 6.00 PM due to launch of Bigg Boss season 6. As the second season didn't get much popularity as compared to predecessor, its viewership gradually decreased and went off-air on 3 August 2024.

Accolades

References

1. "Malayalam Tv Serial Kudumbavilakku". nettv4u.com.
2. "Kudumbavilakku Serial Premieres 27th January At 7.30 P.M On Asianet". keralatv.in. 26 January 2020.
3. "Meera Vasudevan to play the lead in Kudumbavilakku". The Times of India. 16 January 2020.
4. "Shreejit Vijay will be seen playing the role of a doctor". english.newstracklive.com. 25 January 2020.
5. "ആരാധകര്‍ക്ക് സന്തോഷ വാര്‍ത്ത! 1000 എപ്പിസോഡില്‍ അവസാനിക്കില്ല 'കുടുംബവിളക്ക്', ഇനി പുതിയ കഥ". Asianet News (in Malayalam).
6. "Kudumbavilakku Season 2 Serial On Asianet Starts From Monday, 04 December At 10:00 PM". Keralatv. 4 December 2023.
7. "Kudumbavilakku to Mrs. Hitler: Here's a look at the popular originals of these Malayalam shows". The Times of India. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
8. "Kudumbavilakku actors have fun during shoot breaks". The Times of India. 24 November 2020.
9. "Meera Vasudevan: I'm as excited as my character, Sumithra, to see her transformation on Kudumbavilakku". The Times of India. 26 August 2020.
10. "K K Menon: If every character had a heart of gold, serials would be bland". The Times of India. 29 March 2020.
11. "Sreejith Vijay to Athira Madhav: Actors who quit Kudumbavilakku midway". The Times of India.
12. "കുടുംബവിളക്കിലെ ആ പഴയ വേദിക ഇനി പോലീസ് ഓഫീസർ, ആഘോഷമാക്കി ആരാധകർ". filmibeat (in Malayalam). 27 November 2020.
13. "Kudumbavilakku: Actress Saranya Anand joins the show as Vedhika". The Times of India. 4 September 2020.
14. "മാണി സി കാപ്പന്റെ കസിനാണ്: ഭാര്യയുമായി പിണക്കത്തിലാണ്? വീഡിയോ!". Samayam.
15. "'എന്തൊക്കെയാണ് സുമിത്രയോട് ചെയ്യുന്നത്?', സ്‍ത്രീ ചോദിച്ചു, ദേവി മേനോൻ പറയുന്നു". Asianet News.
16. "Exclusive - Actor-producer Dr. Shaju: Serials don't show rape, child labour, not even eve-teasing, what is there to censor?". The Times of India. 26 November 2021.
17. "Sreejith Vijay to play a doctor in his TV comeback". The Times of India. 24 January 2020.
18. "Anand Narayan replaces Sreejith Vijay in 'Kudumbavilakku'". The Times of India. 5 October 2020.
19. "Kudumbavilakku actress Athira Madhav announces pregnancy on her wedding anniversary". The Times of India. 11 November 2021.
20. "Athira Madhav quits Kudumbavilakku; introduces the new 'Ananya'". The Times of India. 23 December 2021.
21. "'സെല്‍ഫിയില്‍ ഒപ്പമുള്ളത് ഭാവി വധുവോ'? സസ്പെന്‍സ് വിടാതെ നൂബിന്‍ ജോണി". Asianet News.
22. "പ്രണയം അദ്ദേഹത്തോട് മാത്രം, കുടുംബവിളക്കിലെ നടിമാരെല്ലാം പ്രണയിക്കുന്നത് ഈ നടനെ, രസകരമായ വീഡിയോയുമായി ആതിര". Filmibeat. 14 August 2021.
23. "Kudumbavilakku fame Parvathy looks radiant and happy with sister Mridhula Vijai in these pictures from her babyshower". The Times of India. 27 December 2021.
24. "ആറ്റുകാലമ്മയ്ക്ക് നിറകണ്ണുകളോടെ പൊങ്കാലയര്‍പ്പിച്ച് 'കുടുംബവിളക്ക് ശീതള്‍'". Asianet News.
25. Bala, Lakshmi (9 September 2021). "കുറെയധികം സ്ട്രഗിൾ ചെയ്താണ് ഇന്ന് ഈ നിലയിൽ എത്തിയത്; ക്യാമറ എന്തെന്നുപോലും അറിയാത്ത ഒരു കാലം ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നുവെനിക്ക്; ശ്രീലക്ഷ്മി ശ്രീകുമാർ പറയുന്നു!". Malayalam Samayam. The Times of India.
26. "Vanambadi fame Gouri Prakash aka Anumol joins 'Kudumbavilakku'; watch video". The Times of India. 4 February 2021.
27. "Actor Fawaz Zayani joins 'Kudumbavilakku' as Sampath". The Times of India. 27 October 2020.
28. "Manoj Nair shares a video recalling how he was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy; urges everyone to take care of their health". The Times of India. 14 December 2021.
29. "ഇദ്ദേഹമായിരുന്നോ മഞ്ജുവിന്റെ ഭർത്താവ്; ആദിയായിരുന്നോ മകൻ; മഞ്ജു സതീഷിന്റെ കുടുംബത്തെ ഏറ്റെടുത്ത് സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയ!". Samayam.
30. "ബ്രെയിന്‍ ട്യൂമറായിരുന്നു, അറിഞ്ഞതും ആത്മഹത്യ ചെയ്തു; അച്ഛനെക്കുറിച്ച് മഞ്ജു വിജീഷ്". Filmibeat (in Malayalam). 18 July 2022.
31. "Seetha Kalyanam fame Jithu Venugopal joins Kudumbavilakku". The Times of India. 4 March 2022.
32. "'കുടുംബ വിളക്കി'ലെ പുതിയ വില്ലൻ; ജീവൻ ഗോപാലിന്‍റെ വിശേഷങ്ങള്‍". Malayalam Samayam (in Malayalam). The Times of India. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
33. "Kudumbavilakku: Mollywood actor Aju Varghese to play a cameo in the show". The Times of India. 21 December 2020.
34. "Kudumbavilakku Serial Premieres 27th January At 7.30 P.M On Asianet". Keralatv. 26 January 2020.
35. "New episodes of Manjil Virinja Poovu, Kudumbavilakku and other TV shows to air soon". The Times of India. 26 May 2020.
36. "From Sanjivani's premiere to airing fresh episodes of popular shows: Here's how Malayalam TV will entertain viewers". The Times of India. June 2020.
37. "Kudumbavilakku is back to the numero uno spot on TRP charts, Santhwanam slips to the second position". The Times of India. 9 April 2021.
38. "Kudumbavilakku continues to rule the TRP charts; here a look at the top 5 TV shows of the week". The Times of India. 4 February 2022.
39. "Kudumbavilakku show celebrates a milestone as it completes 1000 episodes". The Times of India. 29 November 2023.
40. "Kudumbavilakku: Shivadas' final farewell leaves Sumithra shattered". The Times of India. 16 November 2023.
41. "Kudumbavilakku Shifting To 10:00 PM From 20 November 2023". Keralatv. 17 November 2023.
42. "ആരാധകര്‍ക്ക് സന്തോഷ വാര്‍ത്ത! 1000 എപ്പിസോഡില്‍ അവസാനിക്കില്ല 'കുടുംബവിളക്ക്', ഇനി പുതിയ കഥ". Asianet News (in Malayalam).
43. "Kudumbavilakku Season 2 Serial On Asianet Starts From Monday, 04 December At 10:00 PM". Keralatv. 4 December 2023.
44. "Bigg Boss Malayalam 6 theme, premiere date, confirmed contestants: Here's everything you need to know about the season". The Times of India. 8 March 2024.
45. "Kudumbavilakku inches to the climax; Sumithra to learn about Pratheesh?". The Times of India. 22 June 2024.
46. "Meera Vasudevan bids goodbye to 'Kudumbavilakku', says 'What a wonderful journey this has been'". The Times of India. 5 August 2024.
47. "Asianet Television Awards 2022 Winners – Santhwanam Won Best Serial Award". Kerala TV. 15 October 2022.
48. "ജൻമഭൂമി ടെലിവിഷൻ അവാർഡ്; കുടുംബവിളക്ക് മികച്ച സീരിയല". Malabar News.

External links

• Kudumbavilakku on Hotstar

• Asianet (TV channel) original programming
• 2020 Indian television series debuts
• Malayalam-language television shows
• Indian drama television series
• Indian television soap operas
• Malayalam-language television series based on Bengali-language television series