Meenakshi Ponnunga (transl. Daughters of Meenakshi) is a 2022-2024 Indian Tamil language television drama starring Sriranjani with Soundarya Reddy and Aryan in the lead roles.[1] It is an official remake of Zee Telugu TV series Radhamma Kuthuru.[2] It premiered on Zee Tamil from 1 August 2022 and ended on 4 August 2024 with 637 Episodes.[3][4]

Meenakshi Ponnunga
GenreDrama
Screenplay byHaran Prasanna
Directed byL. Muthukumaraswamy (Episode 1-54)
M.Shankar (Episode 55-198)
Parameshwar (Episode 199-247)
Ramkumar Das (248-637)
StarringSriranjani
Soundarya Reddy
Aryan
Opening theme"Raasi Nalla Raasi"
ComposerVishal Chandrasekar (title track) Rakshith K (background score)
Country of originIndia
Original languageTamil
No. of episodes637
Production
Executive producerKavidhai Senthil
ProducerBala Sundaram
CinematographyArjunan Karthik
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companyInsidues Media
Original release
NetworkZee Tamil
Release1 August 2022 (2022-08-01) –
4 August 2024 (2024-08-04)
Related
Radhamma Kuthuru

Plot

edit

Meenakshi gives birth to three daughters Yamuna, Shakthi and Durga. Meenakshi's husband, who desperately wanted a son, ran away and married Pushpa. So Meenakshi runs a food supplies store named "Meenakshi Food Supplies Store" with the help of her daughters, which was a famous store in that village. Shakthi vows to become an IAS officer to avenge her mother. Meanwhile, Vetri, the son of Ranganayagi, falls in love with Shakthi.

Cast

edit

Main

edit
  • Mokshitha Pai (2022)[5] → Soundarya Reddy (2022–2024)[6] as Shakthi – Meenakshi and Needhimani's second daughter; Yamuna's younger sister; Durga's elder sister; Vetri's love interest and wife; Ranganayagi's daughter-in-law
  • Archana (2022–2023)→ Sriranjani (2023–2024)[7] as Meenakshi – Needhimani's first wife; Yamuna, Shakthi and Durga's mother; Karthik and Vetri's mother-in-law
  • Aryan [8] as Vetri – Ranganayaki's son; Saranya's brother; Pooja's ex-fiancé; Shakthi's husband

Recurring

edit
  • Gayathri Yuvraaj[9] (2022–2023) →Kavya Bellu (2023-2024) as Yamuna – Meenakshi and Needhimani's first daughter; Shakthi and Durga's elder sister; Karthik's love interest and wife
  • Pranika Dhakshu as Durga – Meenakshi and Needhimani's last daughter; Shakthi and Yamuna's younger sister
  • Sasilaya as Ranganayagi – Vetri and Saranya's mother; Shakthi and Ashok's mother-in-law
  • Anandmouli as Singaraja - Ranganayagi's husband
  • Subathira as Pushpa − Needhimani's second wife; Shanmugam's mother
  • Ram Sundar as Sangili - Pushpa's brother, who wants to marry one of Meenakshi's daughters, with the intention of making their life hell.
  • Prabhakaran as Needhimani – Meenakshi and Pushpa's husband; Yamuna, Shakthi, Durga and Shanmugam's father; Karthik and Vetri's father-in-law
  • Suganya as Saranya – Ranganayagi's daughter; Vetri's sister; Ashok's wife
  • Hema Dayal as Pooja – Vetri's ex-fiancé
  • Sudharsanam (2022) →Vishnukanth (2022–2023) → Ashwin Balaji (2023–2024) as Karthik – Kokila's son; Yamuna's husband
  • Aarthi Ramkumar as Kokila – Karthik's mother
  • Singaraja as Kokila's husband and Karthik's father
  • Deepa Shankar as Shantha – Meenakshi's friend and maid
  • Vigneshwaran as Ashok – Saranya's husband
  • Thidiyan as Thidiyan – Vetri's friend
  • Tom Frank as Giri -Vetri's friend
  • Sanjay as Shanmugam – Needhimani and Pushpa's son
  • Siddharth Kapilavayi as Rohit – Pooja's ex-fiancé

Cameo Appearances

edit

Soundtrack

edit

All the title tracks of the series was composed by Radhan. The song Kannala Thaakura was sung by Sarath Santhosh and lyrics by Ku. Karthik.

Meenakshi Ponnunga
Soundtrack album
Released1 August 2022
Recorded2022
GenreTV series soundtrack
LanguageTamil
LabelZee Tamil
Track list
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Raasi Nalla Raasi"Radhan1:31
2."Kannala Thaakura"Radhan1:30

Production

edit

Casting

edit

Actress Archana was signed to portray the title role of Meenakshi in her first television debut. She quit the serial in April 2023 due to being unsatisfied with the storyline and in June 2023, she was replaced by Sriranjani.[10] Mokshitha Pai was initially selected to play the role Shakthi, by marking her debut in Tamil television but later was replaced by Soundarya Reddy in November 2022 who also made her debut in Tamil television as Mokshitha Pai quit the serial.[11][12] Aryan was selected to play the character Vetri, whilst Tamil motivational speaker Sasilaya was chosen to play the role of Renganayagi, Vetri's mother.[13][14]

Actress Gayathri Yuvaraj was initially played the role as Yamuna.[15] Later due to her pregnancy situations she need to stay in home, so she quit the series in September 2023, she was replaced by Kavya Bellu.[16] In end of January 2024, actress Shreya Anchan was cast as special Appearance.[17][18]

Awards and nominations

edit
Year Award Category Recipient Role Result
2022 Zee Tamil Kudumbam Viruthugal 2022[19] Best Serial - Nominated
Favourite Serial Nominated
Favorite Villain Subathira Pushpa Nominated
Best Villain Nominated
Most Promising Actor-Female Soundarya Reddy Shakthi Won
Most Promising Actor- Male Aryan Vetri Nominated
Rising Star- Male Won
Best Supporting Actress Gayatri Yamuna Nominated
Pranika Dhakshu Durga Nominated
Best Comedian Deepa Shantha Nominated
2023 Zee Tamil Kudumbam Viruthugal 2023[20] Best Serial Nominated
Favorite Serial Nominated
Best Actor Female Soundarya Reddy Shakthi Nominated
Favorite Actor Female Nominated
Most Popular Marumagal Won
Best Actor Male Aaryan Vetri Nominated
Favorite Actor Male Nominated
Best On Screen Pair Aaryan & Soundarya Reddy Vetri & Shakthi Won
Favorite On Screen Pair Nominated
Most Popular Mamiyar Sasilaya Ranganayaki Nominated
Favorite Mamiyar Nominated
Best Mamiyar & Marumagal Sasilaya & Soundarya Reddy Ranganayaki & Shakthi Nominated
Most Popular Amma Sriranjani Meenakshi Won
Favorite Villi - Villain Subathra Pushpa Nominated
Hema Dayal Pooja Nominated
Best Comedian Thidiyan Thidiyan Nominated

References

edit
  1. ^ "முதல்முறையாக சின்னத்திரையில் தடம் பதிக்கும் 'வீடு' பட புகழ் அர்ச்சனா!". 29 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Radhamma Kuthuru Serial Remade in Other Languages – Zee Telugu Serial". 3 August 2022.
  3. ^ "'Meenakshi Ponnunga' to go off-air; Aryan shares a glimpse from the last day of shoot". The Times of India. 29 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Soundarya Reddy-Aryan starrer 'Meenakshi Ponnunga' to go off-air". The Times of India. 21 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Mokshitha Pai to make her Tamil TV debut; details inside – Times of India". The Times of India.
  6. ^ "மீனாட்சி பொண்ணுங்க சீரியல் நாயகி மாற்றம்: அவருக்கு பதிலாக இனி இவர்!". The Indian Express (in Tamil).
  7. ^ "Sri Ranjani joins TV show 'Meenakshi Ponnunga'; here's what the actress has to say – Times of India". The Times of India.
  8. ^ "'Baakiyalakshmi' fame Aryan to play the male lead in 'Meenakshi Ponnunga' – Times of India". The Times of India.
  9. ^ "Nam Iruvar Nadu Iruvar Fame Gayatri Yuvraj to Star in Show Meenakshi Ponnunga". News18. 21 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Sri Ranjani joins TV show 'Meenakshi Ponnunga'; here's what the actress has to say". The Times of India. 5 June 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Exclusive: Mokshitha Pai to debut on Tamil TV – Times of India". The Times of India.
  12. ^ "Mokshitha Pai quits Tamil television show Meenakshi Ponnunga". The Times of India. 25 November 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Actress Shabana's Husband Aryan to Work on Zee Tamil's Remake of This Telugu Show". News18. 25 June 2022.
  14. ^ "ரெங்கநாயகியாக மாறிய லயா : வைரலாகும் போட்டோஸ் | Sasi Laya as Renganayagi". 10 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Actress Gayathri Yuvraj announces his exit from the TV show 'Meenakshi Ponnuga'; Kavya Bellu to replace her as Yamuna?". The Times of India. 5 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Television actress Kavya Bellu joins the cast of 'Meenakshi Ponnuga'". The Times of India. 5 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Shreya Anchan Sidhu to make a cameo appearance in 'Meenakshi Ponnunga'". The Times of India. 22 January 2024.
  18. ^ "TV actress Shreya Anchan Sidhu to make a cameo appearance in the show 'Meenakshi Ponnunga'". The Times of India. 22 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Zee Kutumbam Viruthugal Awards 2023 to air on January 14". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  20. ^ "Diwali arrives early with Zee Tamil". www.medianews4u.com. 4 November 2023.
edit