Tamil television soap opera

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. Because they attract the most viewers, each channel competes for the most popular stars.

Format

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.

Singapore and Malaysia

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.

Contemporary series
Main article: List of Tamil soap operas

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.

Music
See also: Music of Tamil Nadu

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.

Production

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.

Broadcast

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. Tamil serials are also dubbed in Malayalam, Telugu, Sinhalese and English and most serials air with English, Sinhalese and Malay subtitles.

Kerala

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.

Andhra Pradesh

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.

Karnataka

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.

Maharashtra

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.

Sri Lanka
See also: Television in Sri Lanka

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. Most Tamil serial airs in Tamil language with Sinhalese subtitle.

Singapore and Malaysia

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.

Other countries

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.

Running time

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.

List of longest-running Tamil Language television 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 (2012-12-17) 14 September 2019 1961 Sun TV
கல்யாணபரிசு
Kalyana Parisu		 10 February 2014 (2014-02-10) 27 March 2020 1840 Sun TV
சந்திரலேகா
Chandralekha		 6 October 2014 (2014-10-06) Present 1770+ Sun TV
சரவணன் மீனாட்சி
Saravanan Meenatchi		 7 November 2011 (2011-11-07) 17 August 2018 (2018-08-17) 1,765 Vijay TV
வாணி ராணி
Vani Rani		 21 January 2013 (2013-01-21) 8 December 2018 (2018-12-08) 1,743 Sun TV
கோலங்கள்
Kolangal		 29 May 2003 (2003-05-29) 4 December 2009 (2009-12-04) 1533 Sun TV
கஸ்தூரி
Kasthuri		 21 August 2006 (2006-08-21) 31 August 2012 (2012-08-31) 1532 Sun TV
தெய்வமகள்
Deivamagal		 25 March 2013 (2013-03-25) 17 February 2018 (2018-02-17) 1466 Sun TV
திருமதி செல்வம்
Thirumathi Selvam		 5 November 2007 (2007-11-05) 22 March 2013 (2013-03-22) 1360 Sun TV
நாதஸ்வரம்
Nadhaswaram		 19 April 2010 (2010-04-19) 9 May 2015 (2015-05-09) 1356 Sun TV
தென்றல்
Thendral		 7 December 2009 (2009-12-07) 17 January 2015 (2015-01-17) 1340 Sun TV
வம்சம்

Vamsam

 10 June 2013 18 November 2017 1338 Sun Tv
முந்தானை முடிச்சு

Mundhanai Mudichu

 26 April 2010 4 April 2015 1325 Sun Tv
பிரியமானவள்

Priyamanaval

 19 January 2015 11 May 2019 1315 Sun Tv
யாரடி நீ மோகினி
Yaaradi Nee Mohini		 24 April 2017 (2017-04-24) Present 1300+ Zee Tamil ஆனந்தம்

Anandham

 24 November 2003 27 February 2009 1297 Sun TV
அத்திப்பூக்கள்

Athipookal

 3 December 2007 14 December 2012 1272 Sun TV
இளவரசி

Ilavarasi

 19 January 2010 1 November 2014 1263 Sun Tv
பொம்மலட்டம்

Bommalattam

 15 October 2012 22 October 2016 1150 Sun Tv
தாமரை

Thamarai

 3 November 2014 4 August 2018 1129 Sun TV
வசந்தம்

Vasantham

 3 September 2007 27 January 2012 1109 Sun Tv
மரகத வீணை

Maragatha Veenai

 27 January 2014 28 September 2017 1102 Sun Tv
அழகி

Azhagi

 10 October 2011 4 March 2016 1101 Sun Tv
மகள்

Magal

 8 October 2007 14 October 2011 1035 Sun Tv

See also

Channels:

Notes
3D
Guinness World Records
  • Nadhaswaram: This serial on 5 March 2014 achieved the feat of being the First Indian soap opera and Tamil television soap opera to be aired live. This was done to commemorate the Soap opera's 1000th Episode on 5 March 2014. By airing a 23-minutes 25seconds long live telecast in a single shot, the soap opera has earned a place in the Guinness World Records.[13][14][15][16]
Popularity
  • Marmadesam: It was an extremely successful tele-serial. It was ranked first in viewership among the television programmes telecast from Chennai in 1997.[17]
  • Chithi: It holds the credit of most watched regional Language television program in India ever.[18]

References
  1. "Lit of Tamil language Channels". livetvchannelsfree.com.
  2. "Why is the Tamil serial so gender-insensitive?". The Hindu.
  3. "Shreekumar Tamil TV Actor". onenov.in.
  4. "Neeli Fantasy Tamil Serial on Vijay TV". The Times of India.
  5. "1990s Serials நாகாவின் மர்மதேசம், பாலச்சந்தரின் பிரேமி" (in Tamil). tamil.filmibeat.com.
  6. "Sun TV Schedule". The Times of India.
  7. Chosun Ilbo 2007.
  8. "Sun TV". The Economic Times.
  9. "Vijay TV". hotstar.com.
  10. "Chithi serial happened, probably in the early 1990s". The Hindu.
  11. "'Annamalai'gains from'Chithi'". The Hindu.
  12. "India's first 3D TV serial, 'Mayavi' debuts on Jaya TV". exchange4media.com. Retrieved 7 October 2006.
  13. Naig, Udhav (22 March 2014). "Sounds of celebration". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  14. "சன் டிவி தொடர் உலக சாதனை". dinakaran.com.
  15. "சன் டிவி தொடர் உலக சாதனை". visarnews.com.
  16. "Gopi wins Guinness award for best villain". cinema.dinamalar.com (in Tamil). 14 June 2015.
  17. Amos Owen Thomas (2005). Imagi-nations and borderless television: media, culture and politics across Asia. SAGE. p. 115. ISBN 0761933956.
  18. "TAM's top 10 in Cable & Satellite homes". Indiantelevision.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
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