Uppum Mulakum

''Uppum Mulakum'' () is an Indian Malayalam-language sitcom, that has been broadcast on Flowers since 14 December 2015. Created and directed by R. Unnikrishnan, the sitcom depicts the everyday life of Balachandran Thampi, his wife Neelima, and their five children. The main cast includes Biju Sopanam, Nisha Sarang, Rishi S. Kumar, Juhi Rustagi, Al Sabith, Shivani Menon and Baby Ameya. Baby Ameya joined the show as the newborn baby of the family in May 2018.

It crossed 1,000 episodes in 2019. The first season of the show aired from 14 December 2015 to 15 January 2021, consisting of 1206 episodes. The second season of the show began broadcast on 13 June 2022. Juhi Rustagi, who previously had left the show in January 2020 when it reached 1013 episodes came back to the show in the second season. Uppum Mulakum is one of the most popular and longest running Malayalam sitcoms that has been acclaimed throughout its run. The show won the Kerala State Television Award for Best Comedy Show in 2017.

Plot summary

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: Vishnu who's called "Mudiyan" by his family's due to his hair, Lakshmi "Lechu", Keshav "Keshu", Shivani "Shiva" and Parvathi "Parrukutty". 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 BSc examinations. He is Neelu's eldest and favorite 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 BSc, 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 currently works in a private bank.

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, Sidharth in episode 1011 and was last seen in season 1 during the 1013th episode (This was due to Juhi Rustagi leaving the show). She came back in season 2 and it was revealed that Lechu's husband now works abroad so that she can stay with her parents.

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 eventually joined by Parrukutty, the baby of the family. She is an adorable baby who has won the hearts of her family members. She was born in episode 604.

They are occasionally visited by Balu's brother Surendran Thambi, his parents Madhavan Thambi and Sharada, his aunt, his cousin Rema, Rema's husband Jayanthan, Rema's father (Balu's relative) Shankaran Thambi, Neelu's parents Kuttan Pillai and Bhavani Amma. Their neighbors Bhasi, Nawas, Shukoor, newspaper boy Kannan, auto-rickshaw driver Chandran, Chandran's 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 make 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.

Shankaran (Shankara Annan)is a drunkard who 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 a close friend of the 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 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, who 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.

Cast

Main Cast

* Biju Sopanam as Shulamkudi Veetil Balachandran "Balu" Thampi - Neelima's Husband; Vishnu, Lakshmi, Keshav, Shivani and Parvathy's Father; Madhavan Thampi and Sharada's son; Kuttan Pillai and Bhavani's son-in-law; Surendran's brother; Sreekuttan and Sreeraj's brother-in-law.
* Nisha Sarang as Neelima "Neelu" Balachandran Thambi ( née Neelima Pillai) - Balachandran's Wife; Vishnu, Lakshmi, Keshav, Shivani and Parvathy's Mother; Kuttan Pillai and Bhavani's daughter; Madhavan Thambi and Sharada's daughter-in-law; Sreekuttan and Sreeraj's sister; Surendran and Rajendran's sister-in-law. Narayani kuttyamma's granddaughter.
* Rishi S Kumar as Vishnu "Mudiyan" Balachandran Thambi - Balachandran and Neelima's Eldest Child; Lakshmi, Keshav, Shivani and Parvathy's Elder Brother; Kuttan Pillai, Bhavani, Madhavan Thambi and Sharada's grandson; Surendran, Rajendran, Sreekuttan and Sreeraj's nephew.
* Juhi Rustagi as Lakshmi "Lachu" Sidharth ( née Lakshmi Balachandran Thambi) - Balachandran and Neelima's second child; Vishnu, Keshav, Shivani and Parvathy's sister; Sidharth's wife; Kuttan Pillai, Bhavani, Madhavan Thambi and Sharada's granddaughter; Surendran, Rajendran, Sreekuttan and Sreeraj's niece.
* Al Sabith as Keshav "Keshu" Balachandran Thambi - Balachandran and Neelima's Third child; Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shivani and Parvathy's brother; Kuttan Pillai, Bhavani, Madhavan Thambi and Sharada's grandson; Surendran, Rajendran, Sreekuttan and Sreeraj's nephew.
* Shivani Menon as Shivani "Shiva" Balachandran Thambi - Balachandran and Neelima's Fourth child; Vishnu, Lakshmi, Keshavan and Parvathy's sister; Kuttan Pillai, Bhavani, Madhavan Thambi and Sharada's granddaughter; Surendran, Rajendran, Sreekuttan and Sreeraj's niece.
* Baby Ameya as Parvathy "Parru" Balachandran Thambi - Balachandran and Neelima's Fifth child; Vishnu, Lakshmi, Keshavan and Shivani’s younger sister; Kuttan Pillai, Bhavani, Madhavan Thambi and Sharada's granddaughter; Surendran, Rajendran, Sreekuttan and Sreeraj's niece.

Recurring

Guest

This is a list of the celebrities who have made guest appearances in the show.

Production

Season 1

Nisha Sarang was offered the role of Neelima when she was doing the cookery show ''Kuttikkalavara'' on Flowers. 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. 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. 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.

Biju's real-life brother, Binoj, who is five years younger than him, portrays his brother Surendran Thambi on the show. Biju's real-life daughter Gouri Lakshmi portrays his niece Kanmani, Surendran's daughter. The show was filmed at a house named Paramada Veedu in Vazhakkala, Kochi. In July 2018, R. Unnikrishnan was replaced by cinematographer S.J Sinu as the show's director. Later Pradheep Madhav was choosen as the director of the show.

Final episodes

Uppum Mulakum's rating began to drop slightly when Juhi Rustagi left the show in January 2020. When the show started back its production after several months of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, a new character called Pooja Jayaram was introduced. Still the show did not managed to get back the rating like that of in its earlier days. Around the same time, Flowers TV launched another sitcom called '' Chakkappazham'' in August 2020. After airing the last episode on 15 January 2021, Uppum Mulakum stopped its broadcast. Flowers TV managing director Sreekandan Nair later announced that the show would undergo an hiatus for an extended period of time. But in February 2021, it was unofficially confirmed by the fans that the show is not on hiatus and has been cancelled. Later in March 2021, Biju Sopanam and Nisha Sarang finally revealed through social media that the show has been officially cancelled by the channel thus making the 1206th episode aired on 15 January as its final episode.

Season 2

During the 1 June 2022 episode of "Flowers Oru Kodi", Nair announced that the second season of Uppum Mulakum is under development and will start broadcast on 13 June 2022. They also released a teaser of the second season on the channel and social media announcing the same. The show's creator and initial director R. Unnikrishnan was bought back in the director role. Juhi Rustagi, who left the show in January 2020 also made a comeback. The first episode of the second season was premiered on 13 June 2022 and it became number one trending topic on YouTube.

Reception

Uppum Mulakum is one of the most popular sitcoms in Malayalam. The show has one of the biggest fan base for a Malayalam TV show and is acclaimed by the audience for its realistic touch.

Critical response

Indian express stated; "Uppum Mulakum presents the simple things in daily life without losing its originality. Behind the show's popularity is that the audience can feel that the house and its family members may have been living somewhere else in the real life".

Awards

;Flowers Comedy Awards 2016
# Most popular serial
# Best onscreen pair
;Flowers TV Awards 2017
# Most popular serial
# Best actor – Biju Sopanam
;Mangalam TV Awards 2017
# Best comedian – Biju Sopanam
# Best comedian female - Nisha Sarang
# Best child actor - Shivani Menon, Al Sabith
;Kerala State Television Awards 2017
# Best comedy series
# Best comedian – Biju Sopanam
# Best comedian (Special jury) - Nisha Sarang
;Adoor Bhasi Memorial Awards 2017
# Most popular actress - Nisha Sarang
;North American Film Awards
#Best actress (Television) - Nisha Sarang
; Janmabhoomi Awards 2019
#Best child artist - Al Sabith
;Kerala State Television Awards 2020
#Special jury award – Shivani Menon

Controversy

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

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.

Episodes

Adaptations

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

Reboot

In October 2021, Zee Keralam started developing a new spiritual reboot of the sitcom, with the idea of reimagining the original series. The show titled ''Erivum Puliyum'' featuring the actors of the ''Uppum Mulakum'' playing new characters started airing from 17 January 2022 However the show went off-air on 13 May 2022 due to low TRP Ratings and negative reviews from the fans.

See also

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

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.uppummulakum.co.in

Indian television sitcoms
Malayalam-language television shows
Malayalam short stories
Flowers (TV channel) original programming