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''Marmadesam'' ( Land of Mystery) was a 1996-2001
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
mystery
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
television series telecasted between 1996 and 1998 on Sun TV and then on
Raj TV Raj TV is a Tamil language Indian general entertainment channel based in Chennai, India, which was launched on 14 October 1994. Rajtv became as the second most popular channel in Tamil. It is available through digital and mobile entertainment ...
between 1999 and 2001 lasting 5 seasons. It has been re-telecasted on
Vasanth TV Vasanth TV is a Tamil language, Tamil entertainment satellite channel which is owned by Vinoth Vasanthakumar of Vasanth & Co Group. The company has tied up with Tata Communications for providing the uplinking facilities.Telecasted Mobile app T ...
since 3 August 2015, Monday through Friday at 7:30 PM and also in Sun TV from 27 July 2020, Monday through Friday at 10:30 PM. From 2019, it started airing on YouTube from Monday to Saturday by Kavithalaya.


Premise

The series consisted of 5 stand-alone stories dealing with
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
and mystery occurrences. While the stories are purely fictitious, they explore to some extent the beliefs and real-life traditions of
Tamilnadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. ''Ragasiyam'' was set in both village and city. ''Vidathu Karupu'' had a complete village setting. ''Sorna Regai'' had a complete city setting. ''Iyandira Paravai'' had both village and city setting. ''Edhuvum Nadakkum'' was set in a forest. The seasons are named: * ''Ragasiyam'' () ( The Secret) (
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
thriller) (Director: Naga) Explores the legend of the mysterious healing powers of ''Nava-bhashana lingam''. 73 Episodes. * ''Vidāthu Karuppu'' () ( ( Karuppu ) Black Never Spares) (
Psychological Thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...
) (Director: Naga) Explores the legend of the Hindu village deity Karuppu Sami. PS: Karuppu Sami where., Karuppu means Black, Sami Means God. Its so called because the deity is black is colour. Karuppu Sami is considered as a god which protects the villages. Vidātha Karuppu means the god (Karuppu Sami) wont spares the one who make's mistakes. 79 Episodes. * * ''Sorna Reghai'' () ( Golden palmlines) (
crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
) (Director: C.J.Bhaskar) Explores the field of
palmistry Palmistry is the pseudoscientific practice of fortune-telling through the study of the palm. Also known as palm reading, chiromancy, chirology or cheirology, the practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations. Those w ...
. 20 Episodes. * ''Eyanthira Paravai'' () ( The Mechanical Bird) (
crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
) (Director: C.J.Bhaskar) Explores the art of Varmakalai. 34 Episodes. * ''Edhuvum Nadakkum'' () ( Anything can happen) (
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
horror) (Director: Naga) Explores the legend of Kalpaka-vriksham and environment as a living entity. 33 Episodes (the story is not complete as it was abandoned mid-way.)


Plot


''Ragasiyam''

Ragasiyam is the first season of ''Marmadesam'' series. The story-line is about the mysterious healing powers of ''Navabhashanam''
Lingam A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...
s of
Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...
. The plot opens with a small fictional village named Chitharpatti, where a temple of Chitheswarar (also pronounced as Sitheshwarar) attracts a large number of devotees thanks to its legend as well as its purported power to heal any known or unknown disease. An ashram adjacent to the temple, headed by Oomaisaamy (
Charuhasan Charuhasan Srinivasan (born 5 January 1931) is an Indian actor, director and retired lawyer who has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He won the National Film Award for Best ActorSubha J Rao,Entertainment for a cause, Th ...
) is also a popular name, as it cures literally any physically or mentally ill patient. The temple is closed from 6 pm every evening until 6 am the following morning. It is believed that
Siddhar The Siddhar (Tamil language, Tamil (romanized) ''cittar)'' in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were early-age wandering ...
s enter the temple past its closure for the day, and perform their rituals and prayers and leave before dawn, and anyone who disturbs the prayers of the
Siddhar The Siddhar (Tamil language, Tamil (romanized) ''cittar)'' in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were early-age wandering ...
s is done away with by the guardian of the temple, Kaalabhairavar, who is believed to guard the temple during the night in the form of a dog. This belief attracts a number of rationalists to the temple, who want to try and solve the mystery. One such rationalist, a journalist names Srikanth ( Indra Soundar Rajan), hides in the temple when it is being closed for the day, in an attempt to find out what really happens in the temple in the dark. However, as if the villagers' fear is made true, Srikanth is killed by a dog while he is inside the temple. Hence, the entire village is convinced that the temple of Chitheshwarar is actually a den of heavenly Siddhas who pray during the night, leaving ordinary people to pray during the day. Srikanth's friend, Mani Sundaram ( Ramji) is the young son of the temple's chief priest. He is a rationalist, who does not believe in myths and rituals. Instead, he chooses to rationalize his beliefs, and hence often ends up at odds with his father with regard to the temple's mysteries and rituals. One by one, four people are killed inside the temple, including a police inspector who is there to investigate the mystery. At this juncture, Dr. KR (
Delhi Ganesh Ganesan Mahadevan (1 August 1944 – 9 November 2024), known by his stage name Delhi Ganesh, was an Indian actor who mostly acted in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He was well known for the versatility of roles he played during h ...
)—once a great psychiatrist, but now intellectually disabled—strays into the village, and is admitted to Oomaisaamy's ashram by Mani. Prasad ( Prithviraj), Dr. KR's son, comes in search of him, and ends up being a guest to Mani and his sister Lalitha (Vasuki). As Mani and Prasad try to reveal the temple's mystery even more, they come to know that Dr. KR is actually acting as a retard, and he too is trying to do the same. But Dr. KR has personal intentions. He had been regarded as one of the best psychiatrists of India, and an Indian Central Minister admits his intellectually disabled son to his hospital for treatment. But Dr. KR is unable to cure the Minister's son even after giving his best for the patient. Enraged by this, the Minister ridicules Dr. KR and moves his son away to Oomaisaamy's ashram after hearing other people speak so highly about it. Dr. KR feels insulted and decides to find out how Oomaisaamy is able to cure patients so effortlessly in his ashram. To achieve this, he makes everyone believe he is retarded, and lands up in Oomaisaamy's ashram. What Dr. KR does not know, is that he was unable to cure the Minister's son not because of his incompetency, but because of a sinister scheme laid out by his junior, Dr. Vishwaram ( Mohan V. Ram). As Dr. KR acts as a retard and tries to uncover Chitharpatti's mystery, he stumbles upon a greater truth about what might be going on inside the temple during the dark. Dr. KR and Mani then decide to work together to find out the truth. Mani finds out that there are actually one or more persons entering the temple at night through a secret entrance to the temple, and exiting at dawn. In an attempt to find out what they are actually doing inside the temple, Mani hides in the temple one night. He finds out that the two men enter the temple with trained dogs searching for Navabhashana lingams, of which, he learns, they have six already and are trying to locate the remaining three. Mani finds out that these dogs were the ones that killed the four, and it was just the work of thugs and not God, as the villagers believe. Also, the two men seem to get instructions from someone inside the village, who knows and is capitalizing on the superstitious nature of the villagers. Meanwhile, Prasad fall in love with lalitha (Vasuki), (sister of Sundaram) and they decide to marry. Mani is found hiding by these men, and a chase ensues where Mani, fighting for his life, kills the dogs, and forces the two men to leave the temple as stealthily as they arrived, and set the ball rolling for a police probe. Vaithiyar ( Kavithalaya Krishnan), Mani's best friend in the village, turns out to be the man behind these killings inside the temple. As he is about to get caught, he escapes with the lingams he had already stolen, and sets off to Chennai with an accomplice. However, on the way, the accomplice is killed by a truck, which also chases Vaithiyar, but only manages to send him into a coma. The box containing the lingams is lost in the van Vaithiyar was driving, and finds its way to Chennai. The rest of the story is a nail-biting chase for these lingams. In between this hunt for the Lingams, people who are involved in this case gets killed by a moving lorry. A guy, known as Guruji, is the reason behind all these crimes and the police tries to crack the code, to find the man. Mani on his own, tries to find him, with the help of his girlfriend, Devi (Nithya), who unfortunately gets killed by the lorry. Angered, Mani goes and meets Vaithiyar, who is acting as a retard, asking him to disclose who Guruji is. From him, Mani gets to know about a book, which had stated all the current happenings, and it was written 400 years ago. He also learns that the box containing the Lingams would find its way to his sister Lalitha. Shocking truth about many people that Mani believes, come to light, making him not to trust anyone around him except his sister and Rudrapathi (
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
). Rudrapathi also gets killed by the truck. Finally, Mani becomes the one to find the Guruji, by keeping a letter pad on one above another and it is shown that guruji is none other than mani's two neighbors govindaraj and rangaraj. Govindaraj dies of heart attack and rangaraj is arrested. Also in various stages of the plot, the significance of these lingams, values of ancient Hindu scriptures are brought out, which makes the viewer intrigued until the last scene. The last scene was made in a way to tell the viewers about human life and nature's significance. The people who died in the plot, by the lorry, comes to life to address the viewers. The actors declare that Marma Desam series would continue. Thus, telling the viewers about the second season of the series, Vidaathu Karuppu, which turned out to be the most successful of the whole Marma Desam series. The novel version of this season is ''ரகசியமாக ஒரு ரகசியம்.''


''Vidaathu Karuppu''

The second season was titled ''Vidaathu Karuppu''. ''Vidathu Karuppu'' was the most successful of the Marmadesam series. The story examines the psychological underpinnings of the concept of split personalities even while exploring in detail the rural cult of Karuppu Sami prevalent in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. Starring C. T. Rajakantham, Chetan,
Devadarshini Devadarshini is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil films, in addition to few Telugu, Malayalam films and television series. She began her career as a television anchor and entered cinema playing supporting and comedic roles. ...
, Meenakumari, Vijaya Sarathy, Master Lokesh, Mohan V. Ram,
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
,
Ponvannan Ponvannan (born Shanmugam; 23 September 1964) is an Indian actor and director who has worked in Tamil cinema and television. After beginning his career as an artist (painter), Ponvannan apprenticed as a director and writer under Bharathiraja. H ...
, Sureshwar, Kausalya, Muthusubramanian and Sivakavitha, the series was a huge commercial success and triggered imitations and supernatural thrillers by other television directors. Each episode was made of two parts—the first ten minutes of each 30-minute episode was set in the year 1970; the second part of each episode was set in 1995 and related to the events shown in the first part. While the first part revolved around the events of the Anaimudi Alampriyar household as seen through the eyes of the young Rajendran (played by Master Lokesh), the second part was mainly concerned with the customs, beliefs and traditions of the village and events unfolding in the Anaimudi Alampriyar household as seen through the eyes of the sceptical medical student Reena (
Devadarshini Devadarshini is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil films, in addition to few Telugu, Malayalam films and television series. She began her career as a television anchor and entered cinema playing supporting and comedic roles. ...
) and her superstitious Chief Doctor, Nanda ( Mohan V. Ram). The story begins with Reena's arrival in the village in the company of her colleague and best friend, Ratna, daughter of the village headman, Anaimudi Alampriyar, who seeks sanction from her village's guardian deity Karuppu Sami to marry her lover Aravind. In Ratna's village, Reena and her boss learn about the cult of Karuppu Sami, the guardian deity and how Karuppu Sami punishes people who transgress his rules. While Reena's Chief believes it, due to him getting hold of some mysterious notebook with weird stuff and a sword which draws blood, every time it is taken out, Reena is skeptical about it. Eventually, they witness some mysterious and gruesome deaths. Simultaneously, the story of the Anaimudi's mother, the evil moneylender Pechi who indulges in
usury Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...
is told in flashback through the eyes of Anaimudi's son and Ratna's older brother, the extremely soft and timid Rajendran who is obsessed with legends of Karuppu Sami. Pechi murders one of her opponents and is eventually killed herself, the first in a string of mysterious deaths attributed to Karuppu Sami. A few days later, strange events and sightings take place in the Anaimudi household, prompting Anaimudi's family to conclude that the house is haunted by Pechi's ghost and move out. Among the mysterious death (believed to be done by Karuppu Sami), is the hunt for some golden pot. Happened to be the jewels not only of Aanmai Udaiyar, but also the whole village. Every single one in the village had been looking for it, though some of the women try to avoid it extremely (thought that the gold is cursed due to the warth gained by Pechi). Aanmai Udaiyar and Ratna's Uncle, Brahmman are the two people in the whole village putting in the greatest effort to find the gold. Believing Pechi had hidden the gold and jewels in four golden pots and hid it in the village, they near it but miss them. Each time one of the pots is found, it is always empty. Taking it as a challenge and to win over Karuppu Sami, to prove to the villagers that no such deity is around, Reena starts to uncover it too. Reena, anxious to know the identity of Karuppu Sami, investigates the murders and discovers that the haunting was a sham perpetuated by the village schoolteacher (played by
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
) who held a grudge against the Anaimudi's family and orchestrated the haunting to drive them out of the house. But the schoolteacher vehemently denies that he had anything to do with the mysterious murders. Reena, then suspects the priest of the Karuppu Sami shrine in the village who frequently enters a state of trance during which he is possessed by Karuppu Sami and pronounces judgement. But Reena discovers that though the priest is genuinely possessed by the spirit of Karuppu Sami on occasion, he was not the killer. In her investigations, Reena is assisted by Rajendran who acts as her guide. Rajendran gradually falls in love with Reena. Eventually, Rajendran proposes to Reena who rebuffs him questioning his masculinity. Shamed, Rajendran rapes Reena and absconds. That night, Reena discovers the murderer. When Rajendran, in the form of karuppu comes in search of Reena's rapist, Dr.Nandha points at his reflection in the water. Karuppu looks down into the reflection and realises that the sinner is within him and stabs himself. Reena later explains that Rajendran, due to a traumatic childhood experience, suffers from split personality disorder. The stories he was interested in turned him into the karuppu without him knowing. Reena then leaves for the city. Later, a man finds Nanda dead and picks up the book in Nanda's hand. He finds his face on the book and takes it back to his hometown, implying that karuppu will return and will not rest until all evil is abolished in this town now. The novel version of this season is Vittu Vidu Karuppa.


''Sorna Reghai'' ()

It is a crime story based on
palmistry Palmistry is the pseudoscientific practice of fortune-telling through the study of the palm. Also known as palm reading, chiromancy, chirology or cheirology, the practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations. Those w ...
, story revolves between honest police, criminal and Astrologer. Anwar (
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
) is a sincere police officer who lives with his bedridden Hindu father, Parthasarathy. He was adopted as a child by the Hindu Bhramin family. His adoptive parents had a girl a few years later and Anwar, jealous of the affection shown on his sister, intentionally loses her in a crowded street. His mother dies of grieve. Feeling guilty of his mistake, Anwar tries to find his sister though he knows that the chances are less. Anwar recently arrests a dangerous criminal, Muniratna ( Thalaivasal Vijay) who did 16 murders and had hidden a box of gold somewhere. He is to be hanged in 2 days but Anwar gets to know from a Palmistry Astrologer, Bhaskar Das ( Suresh Chakravarthy), that Muniratnam would not die and has a long life of 90 years. Anwar also occasionally gets dreams of meeting people and it ends with an exhaust fan. Anwar sees the people he saw in his dreams later that day or a few days later, with an exhaust fan nearby. He gets a vision of his friend dying in the jail as Muniratnam escapes and gets confused when the same happens. Muniratnam escapes with the help of his men, in disguise as a Church Father, and hides in a poor Theater Operator, Lingam's house. He holds Lingam and his pregnant wife Kamala in hostage in their own house. Anwar tracks down the clues to Lingam's house but Muniratnam is nowhere to be found. Muniratnam is waiting for a message from his men and girlfriend but there is no response. In the meantime, Muniratnam's girlfriend, Manga is kidnapped by his men. It turned out that the men have felt betrayed by Muniratnam and find the gold and kill him in the end. It turns out that Bhaskar Das is Lingam's younger brother and he is also held captive by Muniratnam. It is revealed in the end that Bhaskar Das is the one who initiated Muniratnam's escape and he was after the gold as well. Anwar finds out that Lingam's wife is his long lost sister, Thamarai. In the end, Muniratnam, his friend, Bhaskar Das, Lingam, his wife and Anwar's friend Ravi dies. The box of gold is safely stored in the theater where Lingam works, by Bhaskar Das as he earned Muniratnam's trust and Muniratnam told him the place where it is hidden. Anwar never gets to know about the gold. In the end, the gold finds its way to the hands of Meenakshi, the theater owner's daughter and her boyfriend, Thirunavukarasu, as they leave the city in order to get married, as Thirunavukarasu's mother asks high amount of dowry from Meenakshi's father.


''Iyanthira Paravai'' ()

It is a crime story based on the
Varma kalai Varma Kalai (Tamil: ''varmakkalai'', Malayalam and Sanskrit: ''marma-vidya/marmam'') is an Indian traditional art of pressure points. It combines massage, alternative medicine, traditional yoga and martial arts in which the body's pressure poin ...
, which is using to kill the people. The culprit also using the
boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
to kill the people and it will knock the varma point of the human body to kill the people. A lady doctor identifies the murder which was done by Varma Kalai and she informs CB-CID police officer / inspector Anwar (
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
) about it. Anwar starts to find the culprit with the help of News Tv9 Channel Reporter Charu Latha, who also got aware about the murder before it happens. The Aasaan (varma kalai Teacher) runs a Varma Kalai School, generation by generation at the Aandavar vanam and he lives with his Wife and two sons Kasi ( Chetan) and Valari ( Gowtham Sundararajan). The Aandavar vanam shows some unbelievable mysteries and it has some hidden facts on behalf of the Varma Kalai. The whole murder is targeted to the people who are very close to S.V.S (Ravikumar) and Kumarasammy (Subalekha Sudhakar) in order to create shadow war between them. Unknowingly, the TV reporter reveal the Shadow war between the S.V.S and Kumarasammy and the Kumarasammy tries to hide the war between them. Kumarassammy and M.P Ponnampalam runs some illegal business connecting with the Information City. Meanwhile, Kumarasammy 's daughter gets killed by the culprit who object the information city project and S.V.S tries to calm down Kumarasammy and he says that he will not kill Kumarasammys' daughter. The TV9 Reporter also tries to find out the mysteries on the Aandavar Vanam and consequently she gets chased by the Aasan and his sons. Therefore, the reporter suspect Aasan and tells it to Anwar and Kumarasammy, who both neglect her statement. Due to the funeral rites of Kumarasammy's daughter, the TV9 reporter Charu telecasts all the evidences collected by her about the shadow war between the S.V.S and Kumarasammy and Aandavar vanam. Afterward she gets fired by Kumarasammy (TV9 Chairmen) and she joins in a new channel. However, S.V.S gets killed by Aasan and Kumarasammy came to the spot and they are arrested by police under the doubt, also M.P Ponnampalam ( venu arvind) tries to give bail to them, which is rejected by Anwar. Meanwhile, both of them are released by Court and Charu suspects Anwar, too. Finally Anwer finds the culprit, the motive of the murders, culprits' scope and reveals the Aandevar vanams' Mysteries to charu too. Meanwhile, the right hand of culprit gets killed by Aasan using Varma Kalai along with a boomerang to save the Varma Kalai.


''Edhuvum Nadakkum (Anything Can Happen)''

'Edhuvum Nadakkum' which explores the legend of the Kalpa vriksham tree and environment as a living entity. Thanumalayakkudi is a small tribal settlement (fictional) in a jungle in the interior of South India. Strict inter-clan codes and beliefs bind the members of the tribe. They do not accept money in exchange for their produce of chiefly honey and fruits; they are ready to barter them. In this tribal settlement, there exists a myth that the Kalpavriksham, the celestial tree that can grant any wish and desire of the person standing underneath it, is situated somewhere in the forest. Strangers to the area who go in search of this tree are lost in the forest. To this forest come Sivagurunathan, a divisional forest officer and his brother Natarajan, a wildlife filmmaker and a visiting lecturer of the film and TV institute. Witnesses to the miracles and mysteries of the forest, they are lost in the jungle in pursuit of the Kalpavriksham. It is believed that they are killed in the pursuit of this sacred tree. Siddharth, a student of Natarajan and an aspiring filmmaker, comes to the settlement along with Varsha a sound recordist to make a film on the forest and its wildlife. As the duo learn about the mysteries of the place, they smell something fishy in the alleged deaths of Sivagurunathan and Natarajan. This serial was stopped by the makers for unknown reasons. The plot does not continue. The secret is untold. There seems to be talks to revisit this season since it's left unfinished as per an interview (in 2019) by the director Naga. The novel version of this season is Vaanathu Manithargal. An interesting fact is that the novel was published much later after this series ended. Because of that we can say that this novel is based on Edhuvum Nadakkum series. However the novel's story is slightly different (like characters, sub-plot endings) to that of the one telecasted. Kavithalaya Productions in 2021 released 22 series in YouTube.


Cast


''Ragasiyam''

* Prithviraj as Prasad *
Delhi Ganesh Ganesan Mahadevan (1 August 1944 – 9 November 2024), known by his stage name Delhi Ganesh, was an Indian actor who mostly acted in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He was well known for the versatility of roles he played during h ...
as psychologist and Prasad's father Dr. K. R. * Vasuki Anand as Lalitha Sundaram, daughter of Siddharpatti temple priest and
fiancee An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
of Prasad * Ramji as Mani Sundaram, son of Siddharpatti temple priest *
Charuhasan Charuhasan Srinivasan (born 5 January 1931) is an Indian actor, director and retired lawyer who has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He won the National Film Award for Best ActorSubha J Rao,Entertainment for a cause, Th ...
as the mute
Siddhar The Siddhar (Tamil language, Tamil (romanized) ''cittar)'' in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were early-age wandering ...
(Oomaisami) * Kavithalaya Krishnan as "Vaidyar" Ramarathinam * Sadhasivam as Sundaram Pattar, Siddharpatti temple priest *
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
as CB-CID officer Rudrapathi. * R. N. K. Prasad as Guovindarajan G. * R. N. Sudarshan as Rungarajan G. * Mohan Raman as Dr. Vishwaram, K.R.'s Junior * M.Bhanumathi as servant * Indra Soundar Rajan as writer Srikanth * Muthu Subramaniam as Namboothiri * TKS Chandran as Vairavan Chettiyar * NaliniKanth as Annamalai * Mohanapriya as Amsavalli * Subhalekha Sudhakar as Agniraasu * Ramachandran Mahalingam as
Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
Manickam * Nithya as Sridevi (Srikanth's sister & Mani's Girlfriend) * Maarthandan as Anthony Muthu *
Ajay Rathnam Ajay Rathnam is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil films and serials apart from few Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. He is known for his supporting and negative roles and has acted in over 300 movies. Standing at ...
as CBCID officer Raghu succeeding the deceased Rudrapathi. *
Idichapuli Selvaraj Idichapuli Selvaraj ( – 30 January 2012) was a veteran Tamil comedy actor. He acted in more than five hundred films. He acted alongside many actors. He also worked as an assistant director for the M. G. Ramachandran films like ''Idhayakkani ...
as Grocery shop owner Perumal Chetty *
Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
as worker in Perumal Chetty's Grocery shop *
Mayilsamy Mayilsamy (2 October 1965 – 19 February 2023) was an Indian actor and comedian who primarily played supporting roles. Appearing in many Tamil films, he was also a regular guest judge for ''Asathapovathu Yaaru'' on Sun TV in Chennai. He was ...
as Santhana Krishnan who works at K.R. Hospital *
Mounika Vijaya Rekha, known by her stage name Mounika, is an Indian film and television actress who appeared in South Indian films and Tamil television serials. She was the third wife of director Balu Mahendra. Personal life Mounika was living toge ...
as assistant doctor who works at K.R. Hospital * Cheenu Mohan as parcel service driver *Ashok as Lawrence


''Vidaadhu Karuppu''

* Chetan as Rajendran *
Devadarshini Devadarshini is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil films, in addition to few Telugu, Malayalam films and television series. She began her career as a television anchor and entered cinema playing supporting and comedic roles. ...
as Dr.Reena r.Rathna's friend* Lokesh rajendran as the young Rajendran. * C. T. Rajakantham as Pechi Nachiyar (Pechi Kizhavi) r.Rathna's Grandmother* K. K. Soundar as Kuthiraikaara Paranthaaman * Sadhasivam as Aanaimudi Alampiriyar (Pechi's elder son) * Ramachandran Mahalingam as Kattaiyan (Pechi's younger son) *
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
as Vathiyar Varadharajan / Kasi * Shobana as Valli Nachiyar r.Rathna's mother* Sivakavitha as Sivagami rahmman's wife / Anaimudi's younger sister*
Ponvannan Ponvannan (born Shanmugam; 23 September 1964) is an Indian actor and director who has worked in Tamil cinema and television. After beginning his career as an artist (painter), Ponvannan apprenticed as a director and writer under Bharathiraja. H ...
as Bramman (Aanmai Udaiyar's brother-in-law) * Muthu Subramaniam as Ganapathi Ambalam, Karuppu Temple Poosari * Meenakumari as Dr.Rathna (Rajendran's younger sister) * Mohan Raman as Dr.Nandha * Vijayasarathy as Dr.Aravind athna's boyfriend* Sureshwar as Shanmugham (Vathiyar Varadharajan's son) * Kausalya as Lakshmi (Dr.Rathna's younger sister) * Kavitha tinkku as Selli (Rajendran's fiancée) * Muthu Subramaniam as Ibrahim Rowther (Vaithiyar) * Vijay Anand as Gopal *
Ajay Rathnam Ajay Rathnam is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil films and serials apart from few Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. He is known for his supporting and negative roles and has acted in over 300 movies. Standing at ...
as
Karuppuswamy Karuppusamy, also known as Karuppu or Karuppannaswamy(Tamil language, Tamil: கருப்பண்ணசுவாமி Malayalam: കറുപ്പണ്ണസാമി ),() is a Folk religion, folk God in Tamil Nadu, popular among the so ...
* Mahima Devi as Rasathi (Kuthiraikaara Paranthaman's daughter) *
Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
as Mottaiyan *Maarthandan as Oomaiyan (Ashokan) *
Udayaraj Udayaraj is an Indian actor who is famous for his stint as a child actor. He is known for his role in '' Nila Kaalam'' (2001). As of 2023, he rechristened himself as Udhaya Deep. Career After acting in several films as a child actor, Udayaraj ...
as Mittai Mani * Vichu Viswanath as Veerabhaghu ;


''Sorna Reghai''

*
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
as police inspector Anwar *
Delhi Ganesh Ganesan Mahadevan (1 August 1944 – 9 November 2024), known by his stage name Delhi Ganesh, was an Indian actor who mostly acted in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He was well known for the versatility of roles he played during h ...
as astrologer and Anwar's foster-father Chakravarthy * Vishwa as Thirunaavukarasu *Bhargavi Mani as Thirunavukarasu's lover Meenakshi * R. Sundaramoorthy as Meenakshi's father * Thalaivasal Vijay as Munirathinam *Suresh Chakravarthy as Bhaskar Das *Vaasan as Ravi * Cheenu Mohan as Bhaskar Das's brother * O.A.K. Sundar as smuggler * Ramachandran as Palani * Mahima Devi as Manga (Munirathinam's lover) *Bharathi as Kamala, Anwar's sister ;


''Iyanthira Paravai''

*
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
as police inspector Anwar * Ravikumar as S.V.S (Industrialist and horse owner) * Subhalekha Sudhakar as Kumaarasamy Tv9 Channel Owner * Muthu Subramaniam as Narayanasaamy Aasaan * Venu Arvind as MP Ponnambalam * Chetan as Kasinathan the Foster son of Aasaan * Gowtham Sundararajan as Valarinathan, son of Aasaan * SivaShree as child Parvathy (Anwar's sister's daughter) * Vijayasarathy as Tv9 Channel Cameraman Balu * Sri Priya Mahalakshmi as Doctor Vidhya * Revathi Sankaran as Servant in Anwar's house *Rajasekhar as GK *Vincent Roy as Kolappan *Raji as Charulatha *Madurai Rajamani as vidhya's father *Nithya Ravindran as vidhya's sister *Sreenivasan as Sreenivasan ;


''Edhuvum Nadakkum''

* Sureshwar as Naadi Muthu * Mohan Vaidya as Nataraj (a) Natti *
Poovilangu Mohan Poovilangu Mohan () is an Indian film and television actor. He got the sobriquet "Poovilangu" because of his performance in the Tamil film '' Poovilangu''. He has acted in more than 100 movies in supporting roles and played leading parts in man ...
as Moopar *
Devadarshini Devadarshini is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil films, in addition to few Telugu, Malayalam films and television series. She began her career as a television anchor and entered cinema playing supporting and comedic roles. ...
as Varsha *
Ponvannan Ponvannan (born Shanmugam; 23 September 1964) is an Indian actor and director who has worked in Tamil cinema and television. After beginning his career as an artist (painter), Ponvannan apprenticed as a director and writer under Bharathiraja. H ...
as forest officer Sadasivam. * Subhalekha Sudhakar as Rangachari * Shyalaja Chetlur as Vetha, Rangachari's wife * Vijayasarathy as Siddharth student of the wildlife filmmaker Natarajan * Ramachandran as Irusan *
Samuthirakani P. Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K. Balachander, in '' Paarthale Paravasam''. He won the National F ...
as a tribal (Episode 1) * TKS Chandiran as one of the vaanathu manidhargal * Sadasivam as one of the vaanathu manidhargal * Sreenivasan as one of the vaanathu manidhargal * Muthu Subramaniam as one of the vaanathu manidhargal *
Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
as Forester Govindan * Kavi as Sadasivam's daughter


Production

Naga, who earlier worked as cinematographer for serials directed by K. Balachander made his directorial debut with this series. Naga cited it was Balachander's son Kailasam who wanted him to direct when he initially assumed that he was roped in to handle cinematography.


Ragasiyam

Makers adapted the book ''Ragasiyamaga Oru Ragasiyam'' written by Indira for their first season ''Ragasiyam''. Since the content was not enough for more than 26 episodes, Naga wrote additional 26 episodes with him writing urban part adding lorry as a main character. For the characters, Naga cast many popular actors in different characters which according to him, "made the audience more aware of each character's presence in the show". Delhi Ganesh who usually portrayed a cook in films appeared as high-profile psychiatrist while Subalekha Sudhakar who usually portrayed sacrificing brother was roped in to play a village gangster.


Vidathu Karuppu

For ''Vidathu Karuppu'', Naga adapted Indira's other book ''Vittu Vidu Karuppa'' which according to writer Indira was germinated from a real-life event where the dreaded gangster who was feared by everyone had the fear and respect for deity Karuppana Samy. Naga cast different actors for ''Vidathu Karuppu'' since "the audience has to decipher everyone's character based on their background story." Chetan was cast as Rajendran based on his "features and soft-spoken nature". Devadarshini was chosen to play important character after Naga saw her anchoring in a television show. Naga revealed that "each actor's first half of the face (from the forehead to the nose) or the second half (from the nose to the chin) would match that of the actor who would play their parent's role". For that Sureshwar was chosen to play Poovilangu Mohan's son to match his height.


Broadcast

From 1996 to 1998, The first 2 seasons of the series were aired in Sun TV. From 1999 to 2001, The later 3 seasons of the series were later shifted to
Raj TV Raj TV is a Tamil language Indian general entertainment channel based in Chennai, India, which was launched on 14 October 1994. Rajtv became as the second most popular channel in Tamil. It is available through digital and mobile entertainment ...
. In 2015, The series was later re-telecasted in
Vasanth TV Vasanth TV is a Tamil language, Tamil entertainment satellite channel which is owned by Vinoth Vasanthakumar of Vasanth & Co Group. The company has tied up with Tata Communications for providing the uplinking facilities.Telecasted Mobile app T ...
. In 2020 during the corona virus pandemic, it was re-telecasted in Sun TV.


Reception

Marmadesam was an extremely successful tele-serial. It was ranked first in viewership among the television programmes telecast from
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
in 1997. Ranjanai Krishnakumar of ''Firstpost'' praised ''Vidathu Karuppu'' that it "has aged remarkably well, never once making me cringe so far. The mystery is just as riveting as I remember it. The foreboding is a delight to discover. For those of us who know the ending, re-watching the show makes the clues obvious".


Home media


Streaming

The digital rights of the show was initially with
Rajshri Rajshri Productions is an Indian film production and film distribution, distribution company based in Mumbai, India, established in 1947, which is primarily involved in producing Hindi films. History Rajshri Productions, the film production di ...
Tamil channel. In 2019, '' Kavithalayaa'' announced that all the seasons of ''Marmadesam'' will be released in their own
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel. The show became available on Kavithalayaa's own YouTube channel from August 2019. The show is currently being streaming on Vision Time YouTube Channel.


DVD

The first part of the serial, ''Ragasiyam'', was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
as a 5-disc region-free set in 2011 by Swathi Soft Solutions,
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
.


Remake

The first series of Marmadesam, Ragasiyam, was remade in Hindi with 2 seasons on
Star Bharat Star Bharat is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It was launched on 28 August 2017, rebranded from Life OK. The channel broadcasts a mix of ...
under the name '' Kaal Bhairav Rahasya'' with significant changes in the storyline and was shot in Bhopal.


Further reading


Making of Marmadesam - An Interview with Director Naaga

Marmadesam - Vidaathu Karuppu - யாரும் அறியா திகில் ரகசியங்கள்...

கிட்ஸை மனசில் வெச்சுதான் 'விடாது கருப்பு’ எடுத்தோம்..! - நாகா


References


External links


Raj TV Official Site

Raj Television Network
* * * * * {{Sun TV shows Raj TV television series Sun TV original programming Tamil-language mystery television series Tamil-language thriller television series 1990s Tamil-language television series 1997 Tamil-language television series debuts 2001 Tamil-language television series endings Tamil-language television shows Television shows based on Tamil-language novels