Tamil television drama
![]() | This article possibly contains original research. (September 2017) |
Tamil television drama 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 TV dramas simultaneously at any given time.[citation needed][circular reference] 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[]
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[]
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 dramas 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 dramas in India, European and the US markets is on the rise.[citation needed] Tamil serials are also dubbed in Malayalam, Telugu, Sinhalese and English and most serials air with English, Sinhalese and Malay subtitles.
India[]
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[]
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.[citation needed] 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) |
---|---|---|---|---|
சந்திரலேகா Chandralekha |
6 October 2014 | Present | 1980 | Sun TV |
வள்ளி Valli |
17 December 2012 | 14 September 2019 | 1961 | Sun TV |
கல்யாணபரிசு Kalyana Parisu |
10 February 2014 | 27 March 2020 | 1840 | Sun TV |
சரவணன் மீனாட்சி Saravanan Meenatchi |
7 November 2011 | 17 August 2018 | 1765 | Vijay TV |
வாணி ராணி Vani Rani |
21 January 2013 | 8 December 2018 | 1743 | Sun TV |
கோலங்கள் Kolangal |
29 May 2003 | 4 December 2009 | 1533 | Sun TV |
கஸ்தூரி Kasthuri |
21 August 2006 | 31 August 2012 | 1532 | Sun TV |
தெய்வமகள் Deivamagal |
25 March 2013 | 17 February 2018 | 1466 | Sun TV |
திருமதி செல்வம் Thirumathi Selvam |
5 November 2007 | 22 March 2013 | 1360 | Sun TV |
நாதஸ்வரம் Nadhaswaram |
19 April 2010 | 9 May 2015 | 1356 | Sun TV |
தென்றல் Thendral |
7 December 2009 | 17 January 2015 | 1340 | Sun TV |
வம்சம் | 10 June 2013 | 18 November 2017 | 1338 | Sun Tv |
முந்தானை முடிச்சு
Mundhanai Mudichu |
26 April 2010 | 4 April 2015 | 1325 | Sun Tv |
பிரியமானவள் | 19 January 2015 | 11 May 2019 | 1315 | Sun Tv |
ஆனந்தம் | 24 November 2003 | 27 February 2009 | 1297 | Sun TV |
அத்திப்பூக்கள் | 3 December 2007 | 14 December 2012 | 1272 | Sun TV |
இளவரசி | 19 January 2010 | 1 November 2014 | 1263 | Sun Tv |
யாரடி நீ மோகினி Yaaradi Nee Mohini |
24 April 2017 | 22 August 2021 | 1251 | Zee Tamil |
பொம்மலட்டம் | 15 October 2012 | 22 October 2016 | 1150 | Sun Tv |
தாமரை | 3 November 2014 | 4 August 2018 | 1129 | Sun TV |
பூவே பூச்சூடவா Poove Poochudava |
24 April 2017 | 4 September 2021 | 1113 | Zee Tamil |
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 | 10 October 2011 | 4 March 2016 | 1101 | Sun Tv |
செம்பருத்தி
Sembaruthi |
16 October 2017 | Present | 1089 | Zee Tamil |
See also[]
- List of Tamil-language television channels
- Lists of Tamil-language media in Malaysia
- Television in Sri Lanka
- List of Tamil soap operas
- List of Tamil soap operas currently airing
- List of Tamil-language films
Channels:
- List of TV shows aired on Sun TV (India)
- List of programs broadcast by Zee Tamil
- List of programs broadcast by Star Vijay TV
- List of programs broadcast by Kalaignar TV
- List of programs broadcast by Puthuyugam TV
- List of programs broadcast by Raj TV
- List of serials aired on Polimer TV
- List of programs broadcast by Shakthi TV
Notes[]
- 3D
- Guinness World Records
- Nadhaswaram: This serial on 5 March 2014 achieved the feat of being the first TV drama in Indian and Tamil television to be aired live. This was done to commemorate the show's 1000th Episode on 5 March 2014. By airing a 23-minutes 25seconds long live telecast in a single shot, the TV drama 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[]
- ^ "Lit of Tamil language Channels". livetvchannelsfree.com.
- ^ "Why is the Tamil serial so gender-insensitive?". The Hindu.
- ^ "Shreekumar Tamil TV Actor". onenov.in.
- ^ "Neeli Fantasy Tamil Serial on Vijay TV". The Times of India.
- ^ "1990s Serials நாகாவின் மர்மதேசம், பாலச்சந்தரின் பிரேமி" (in Tamil). tamil.filmibeat.com.
- ^ "Sun TV Schedule". The Times of India.
- ^ Chosun Ilbo 2007.
- ^ "Sun TV". The Economic Times.
- ^ "Vijay TV". hotstar.com.
- ^ "Chithi serial happened, probably in the early 1990s". The Hindu. 5 July 2001. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016.
- ^ "'Annamalai'gains from'Chithi'". The Hindu. 30 July 2002. Archived from the original on 28 September 2002.
- ^ "India's first 3D TV serial, 'Mayavi' debuts on Jaya TV". exchange4media.com. Retrieved 7 October 2006.
- ^ Naig, Udhav (22 March 2014). "Sounds of celebration". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ^ "சன் டிவி தொடர் உலக சாதனை". dinakaran.com.
- ^ "சன் டிவி தொடர் உலக சாதனை". visarnews.com.
- ^ "Gopi wins Guinness award for best villain". cinema.dinamalar.com (in Tamil). 14 June 2015.
- ^ Amos Owen Thomas (2005). Imagi-nations and borderless television: media, culture and politics across Asia. SAGE. p. 115. ISBN 0761933956.
- ^ "TAM's top 10 in Cable & Satellite homes". Indiantelevision.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- Asian drama
- Tamil-language television series by genre
- Tamil-language television soap operas
- Television genres
- Television drama