| Karuthamuthu | |
|---|---|
| File:Karuthamuthu.jpeg | |
| കറുത്തമുത്ത് | |
| Genre | |
| Written by | Pradeep Panicker |
| Story by | Pradeep Panicker |
| Directed by | Praveen Kadakkavoor |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Malayalam |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 1450[1] |
| Production | |
| Production location | Kerala |
| Cinematography | Hemachandran B.Kumar |
| Editor | Ajith Dev Pothencode |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Asianet |
| Original release | 20 October 2014 – 9 August 2019 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Karthika Deepam Muddulakshmi Bharathi Kannamma Rang Majha Vegla Dil Ko Tumse Pyaar Hua Anurager Chhowa Kartik Purnima Yeh Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar |
| External links | |
| [{{#property:P856}} Website] | |
Karuthamuthu (transl. Black Pearl) is an Indian Malayalam-language television soap opera that premiered on Asianet on 20 October 2014. It aired for five years and ran for 1,450 episodes across four seasons, making it one of the longest ran television serials.[2] It is a sequel to the 2011 television series Kumkumapoovu, with the narrative set after the events of the earlier series and focusing on a different family. Illekettu Namboothiri reprised his role as Satyasheelan from Kumkumapoovu.[3]
The series was also adapted into multiple television serials in other Indian languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, and Kannada.
Plot[edit | edit source]
Season 1[edit | edit source]
Karthika, a dark-skinned young woman raised by her stepfather Shekaran, grows up facing neglect and discrimination, while her stepsister Kanya is favoured. During a marriage alliance visit, Balachandran chooses Karthika over Kanya, while Jayachandran later marries Kanya. Unknown to Karthika, Balachandran had earlier been falsely told that he was infertile as part of a scheme orchestrated by Mareena, who was in love with him. Shekaran suppresses this information and allows the marriage to proceed. When Karthika later becomes pregnant, Balachandran suspects her fidelity, and Mareena exploits the situation further, leading Karthika to leave the household.
Season 2[edit | edit source]
Five years later, Karthika and her daughter are found living in hardship and are brought back by Balachandran’s family. Their return triggers renewed conflict, particularly with Mareena and Shekaran, who seek to eliminate them. Following an accident, Karthika loses her memory and comes under the care of Dr. Arun. The season also includes Jayachandran’s death, Kanya’s imprisonment for killing Mareena, and the eventual reunion of Karthika, Balachandran, and their daughter, before further family tensions emerge.
Season 3[edit | edit source]
After an 18-year leap, Balachandrika, the daughter of Karthika and Balachandran, becomes a sub-collector, and the story shifts to her life. Her relationship with Podimol, her cousin, becomes central, particularly as both are connected to Abhiram. Bala secretly marries Abhiram, while family tensions, misunderstandings, and later violence continue to shape their lives. After Bala gives birth, her daughter is believed lost following an accident, but the child survives and is raised elsewhere through adoption.
Season 4[edit | edit source]
Six years later, the child, Muthu, is growing up with her adoptive family. Subsequent events lead Bala and Abhiram to discover that Muthu is their lost daughter. The revelation causes emotional strain between both families, but a shared arrangement is eventually made for Muthu’s upbringing. The series concludes with the family reaching a reconciliation and Nathan departing on a pilgrimage.
Cast[edit | edit source]
Seasons 1 and 2 (2014 – 2017)[edit | edit source]
- Kishor Satya as Dr. Balachandran
- Premi Viswanath[4] / Renu Soundar as Karthika Balachandran: Balachandran's wife; Balachandrika's mother; Kanya's elder stepsister and sister-in-law; Mallika's daughter
- Archana Suseelan as Mareena
- Akshara Kishor as Balachandrika/Bala mol (200-775 episodes)[5]
- Richard N. J. as Jayachandran
- Saranya Sasi as KanyaJayan (1 to 115 episodes)
- Lekshmi Priya replaced Saranya Sasi as KanyaJayan (episodes 116 to 774)
- Santhosh Kurup as Ret Prof. Nathan
- Giridhar as Sreekanth
- Srihari as Kunju Shekharan
- Sreelatha Namboothiri as Shekharan's mother
- Dr. Sharmila as Jagadhamba
- Rajani Murali as Nandini
- Shobha Mohan as Arundhathi
- Devendranath as Dr. Arun
- Thara Kalyan as Mallika
- Akhil Nair as Aromal
- Jayakumar Parameswaran Pillai as Sadanam Sadu
- Arun Mohan as Stephen
- Shiju as Shankar Das
- Lishoy as Dr. Fernandus
- Balachandran Chullikkadu as Dr. Perumal
- Bindu Murali as Lakshmi Dathan
- Sree Padma as Anjana
- Pratheeksha G Pradeep as Raveena
- T.S.Raju as Abhi's ammavan
- Sarath Swamy as Amal
- Anand Narayan as Prem
- Joly Easo as Constable Dakshayani
- Cherthala Lalitha as Sadu's mother / Nathan's sister
- Lalitha as Mallika
- Sree Lakshmi as Anjana
- Illikettu Namboothiri as Sathyaseelan
- Dayana Hameed as Hima
Seasons 3 and 4 (2017 – 2019)[edit | edit source]
- Rini Raj as Balachandrika Abhiram IAS
- Akshara Kishore as young Balachandrika (Footage from season 1)
- Darshana Das as Gayathri Ganeshan (Podimol)
- Niya as Karthika Balachandran
- Pradeep Chandran as Commissioner Abhiram IPS
- Baby Kezhiya as Muthu
- Shalu Menon as Kanya Jayan
Replaced by Lekshmi priya
- Kiran Iyer as Ganeshan
- Santhosh Kurup as Ret Prof. Nathan
- Giridhar as Sreekanth
- Srihari as Kunju Shekharan
- Sreelatha Namboothiri as Shekharan's mother
- Dr. Sharmila 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
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Karuthamuthu serial crosses 1400 episodes". The Times of India. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ↑ M., Athira (24 September 2015). "Gem of a role". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ↑ "'ഒരിക്കലും പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ചില്ല ആളുകള്ക്ക് എന്നോട് ദേഷ്യമാണെന്ന് ' ;ഇല്ലിക്കെട്ട് നമ്പൂതിരി" (in മലയാളം). 25 September 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ↑ Soman, Deepa (11 November 2014). "I am happy to play Karthika of Karuthamuthu: Premi Vishwanath". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ↑ "Akshara Kishor: Bala Mol of 'Karuthamuthu' Fame". www.ibtimes.com.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Karuthamuthu on IMDb