Marmadesam

Marmadesam
DVD cover for Vidathu Karuppu
Format	Indian soap opera
Created by	Minbimbangal
Written by	Indra Soundar Rajan
Directed by	Naga
Country of origin	India
Language(s)	Tamil
Production
Producer(s)	K. Balachander
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	SUN TV, Raj TV
Picture format	576i (SDTV)
Original run	1997 – 2001

Marmadesam (Tamil: மர்மதேசம்), meaning "Mysterious Land" in Tamil, is a television series directed by Naga. The series was telecasted between 1997 and 2001 and was a huge success.

Principal Cast

• Delhi Ganesh
• Charuhassan
• Vasuki (Actress)
• Ramji as Mani (Rahasiyam)
• Nirmala
• Poovilangu Mohan as village schoolteacher (Vidathu Karuppu) and police inspector Anwar (Sorna Reghai and Iyanthira Paravai)
• Mohan V. Ram
• Chetan as Rajendran (Vidathu Karuppu)
• Devadarshini as Reena (Vidathu Karuppu)
• Prithviraj
• Thalaivasal Vijay

Stories

The television series consisted of successive episodes of short stories dealing with supernatural occurrences. While the stories are purely fictitious, they explore some extant beliefs and real-life traditions.

The main stories are:

• Rahasiyam (Tamil: ரகசியம்) (English: The Secret) (Director: Naga) .. Explores the legend of the mysterious healing Nava bhashana lingam.
• Vidāthu Karūppu (Tamil: விடாது கருப்பு) (English: Karuppu never spares) (Director: Naga).. Explores the legend of the Hindu village deity Karuppu Sami
• Sorna Reghai (Tamil: சொர்ண ரேகை) (English: Golden palmlines)(Director: C.J.Bhaskar) .. Explores the field of palmistry.
• Iyanthira Paravai (Tamil: இயந்திர பறவை) (English: The Mechanical Bird) (Director: C.J.Bhaskar).. Explores the practice of Varmakalai.
• Edhuvum Nadakkum (Tamil: எதுவும் நடக்கும்) (English: Anything can happen) (Director: Naga)..Explores the myth of Kalpakavriksham and environment as a living entity.

Plot

Vidāthu Karūppu

Vidāthu Karūppu is the second and most successful of the Marmadesam series. The story examines the psychological underpinnings of the concept of split peronalities even while exploring in detail the rural cult of Karuppu Sami prevalent in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. Starring Chetan, Devadarshini, Master Lokesh, Mohan V. Ram, Poovilangu Mohan, Ponvannan, 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 set in the year 1977 was connected to the next twenty minutes set in the present day. While the first part revolved around the events of the Anaimudi Naicker 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 Naicker household as seen through the eyes of the sceptical medical student Reena (Devadarshini) and her superstitious mentor (Mohan V. Ram). The story begins with Reena's arrival in the village in the company of her colleague, Ratna, daughter of the village headman, Anaimudi Naicker, who seeks sanction from her village's guardian deity Karuppu Sami to marry her lover Arvind.

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 boss instantly believes in the legend, Reena, herself is sceptical about it. Eventually, they witness some mysterious and gruesome deaths including those of Ratna and Arvind who marry against Karuppu Sami's wishes. Simultaneously, the story of the Anaimudi Naicker's mother, the evil moneylender Pechi who indulges in usury is told in flashback through the eyes of Naicker's son and Ratna's older brother, the extremely soft and timid Rajendran who is obsessed with myths 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 Naicker household, prompting Anaimudi Naicker's family to conclude that the house was haunted by Pechi's ghost and move out.

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) who held a grudge against the Naicker'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 judgements. But Reena discovers that though the priest is genuinely possessed by the spirit of Karuppu Sami on occasions, 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 who, though in love with Rajendran, pretends not to.

Eventually, Rajendran proposes to Reena who desiring to cure Rajendran of his timidity, rebuffs him questioning his masculinity. Infuriated, Rajendran rapes Reena and is condemned to die by Karuppu Sami on an appointed day. On the day, the whole village discovers that the punishments perpetuated in name of Karuppu Sami were committed by Rajendran, who obsessed with tales of Karuppu Sami from his childhood had, according to Reena, developed a split personality. However, the villagers staunchly believed that Rajendran was actually possessed by the spirit of Karuppu Sami. In the climax of the series, Rajendran, eventually, stabs himself to death.

Popularity

Marmadesam was an extremely successful tele-serial. It was ranked first in viewership among the television programmes telecasted from Chennai in 1998.^[1]

References

1. ^ Amos Owen Thomas (2005). Imagi-nations and borderless television: media, culture and politics across Asia. SAGE. pp. 115. ISBN 0761933956, ISBN 9780761933953.