Uppum Mulakum

The sitcom revolves around the family of Balu; a self-employed electronics technician, his wife Neelu, who works as an accountant in a private firm, and their five children: Mudiyan, Lechu, Keshu, Shiva and Parukutty. The family is usually referred to as Paramada Veedu.

Vishnu is a new-generation, lively dancer. Earlier he was often teased by his siblings for failing in his B.Sc. examinations. He is Neelu's eldest and favourite son. He has a dance group. His hairstyle makes him a popular character. He even took care of his baby sister when no one was at home. In episode 803, he passed his B.Sc, which made the family happy, and thanks to Meenu his friend, Vishnu got a job at an advertisement company with an income. He lost the job later and is currently trying for a new job.

Lechu is the lazy, beauty-conscious eldest daughter of the family. She often teases her younger siblings. She loves writing poems and singing. She is always seen chatting with her friends. Later she joined for B.Com. She married a naval officer, Siddharth in the episode 1011 and has not appeared since the episode 1013.

Keshu and Shiva are the school-going kids of the house. Keshu is a foodie while Shiva doesn't enjoy eating. Both are naughty but they share an unbreakable bond with each other. They make naughty plans together and Lechu always gets threatened by them. All of them love each other even though they keep fighting all day. They are now studying in a government school.

They are eventually joined by Parukutty, the baby of the family. She is an adorable baby who has won the hearts of her family members. She was a late baby and was born in episode 604.

They are occasionally visited by Balu's brother Surendran Thampi, his parents Madhavan Thampi and Sharada, his cousin Rema, Rema's husband Jayanthan, her father Shankaran, Neelu's parents Kuttan Pillai and Bhavani Amma. Their neighbours Bhasi, Nawas, Shukoor, newspaper boy Kannan, auto-rickshaw driver Chandran, his wife Kanakam, who is the daughter of Balu's distant relative also make appearances. Neelima's brother Sreekkuttan (played by S. P. Sreekumar) also made appearances during the early episodes of the show. Vishnu's friends Jerry, Meenakshi and Jennah along with Lechu's friend Gayathri also makes certain appearances.

They visit Paramada Veedu and sometimes stay there. Some episodes are even taking place at their places called Shoolamkudi house at Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram and Padavalam Veedu at Piravom in Ernakulam. This too highlights Trivandrum vs Kochi in a comic manner as it is seen in common disputes between Balu and Neelu

Balu's brother Surendran who runs a grocery shop in Neyyattinkara is a soft person and Balu often ridicules him. The children call him Chittappan.

Shankarannan is a drunkard but is loved by everyone in the family. His daughter Rema is Balu's cousin and is married to Jayanthan who is a jobless politician. Both of them have silly fights which are often resolved by Balu and Neelu.

In episode number 368, the character of Autodriver Chandran was introduced. He later becomes the close friend of Paramada family. Eventually, in episode 850, he marries Kanakam, a distant relative of Balu, who hails from Tamil Nadu.

During the lockdown period due to COVID-19, the family started a YouTube channel named as Padavalam vs Shoolamkudi and their first video became viral and created two more videos of which one was a story and the other one was a dance by Chittappan. Eventually, in episode 1091 a new character named Pooja Jayaram was introduced. She is a fan of Mudiyan and loves him and she wants to marry him. In episode 1164, the character named Sreeraj who was mentioned since the beginning of the show was introduced. Sreeraj is the eldest brother of Neelu who is settled in Chennai with his family.

Nisha Sarang was offered the role of Neelima when she was doing the cookery show Kuttikkalavara on Flowers.[6] Except for Sarang, all other principal actors were beginners in television. Theatre actor Biju Sopanam had earlier acted under R. Unnikrishnan's directorial in Back Benchers, a comedy serial on Amrita TV. He was offered the role of Balachandran Thampi. Biju was keen on working with Unnikrishnan ever since he watched his directorial sitcom Marimayam on Mazhavil Manorama, he wanted to do such roles that are close to reality. Uppum Mulakum was his second television appearance and the first leading role.[7] Unnikrishnan called Rishi S. Kumar for the role of Vishnu after seeing him in the reality TV show D 4 Dance on Mazhavil Manorama, in which he was a contestant. It was Unnikrishnan's son who recommended him.[8] Al Sabith and Shivani Menon were also picked from reality TV show, they were both contestants on the show Kuttikkalavara on Flowers. Shivani is one month elder than Al Sabith, but it is the other way in the show. Juhi Rustagi was Unnikrishnan's son's friend, they first met on his son's birthday party and few days later she was offered the role of Lachu.[9]

Biju's real-life brother, Binoj, who is five years younger than him, portrays his brother Surendran Thampy on the show.[10] Biju's real-life daughter Gouri Lakshmi portrays his niece Kanmani, Surendran's daughter.[11] The show is filmed at a house named Paramada Veedu in Vazhakkala, Kochi.[12]

Flowers Comedy Awards 2016

1. Most popular serial
2. Best onscreen pair[13]

Flowers TV Awards 2017

1. Most popular serial
2. Best actor – Biju Sopanam[14]

Mangalam TV Awards 2017

1. Best comedian – Biju Sopanam
2. Best comedian female - Nisha Sarangh[15]
3. Best child actor - Shivani, Al Sabith

Kerala State Television Awards 2017

1. Best comedy series
2. Best comedian – Biju Sopanam
3. Best comedian (Special jury) - Nisha Sarangh

Adoor Bhasi Memorial Awards 2017

1. Most popular actress - Nisha Sarangh

North American Film Awards

1. Best actress (Television) - Nisha Sarangh

Janmabhoomi Awards 2019

1. Best child artist - Al Sabith

Kerala State Television Awards 2020

1. Special jury award – Shivani Menon[16]

In July 2018, Nisha Sarangh raised allegations of sexual harassment against the serial director R. Unnikrishnan, after which the Kerala Women's Commission registered a case against him.[17][18] Later, she decided to continue in the serial after the channel assured that the director will be replaced.[19]

In February 2020, the main cast actors had some issues in the set against the scriptwriter due to which they all walked away, much to the disappointment of the fans. Sooner than later, all the issues were solved by the changing of the scriptwriter and the crew was back in action.[20]

Flowers TV subsequently started a behind-the-scenes programme of Uppum Mulakum named Uppile Mulaku, which was hosted by Nandini Nair.[21] It is dubbed into Tamil as Uppum Karavum on Flowers Tamil YouTube channel. They also put up special episodes during festivals like Onam .

• List of television programs by episode count
• List of longest-running Indian television series