Idhayam (2023 TV series)

Idhayam - Maranathai Vendra Kadhal Kadhai ( Heart - The Love Story That Triumphed Death) is an Indian-Tamil language television series starring Janani Ashok Kumar and Richard Jose in the lead roles. The series revolves around a famous businessman Aadhi who falls in love with a small-town widow, Bharathi. The series started airing on Zee Tamil and streams on ZEE5 from 28 August 2023. It is one of the most popular feel-good series of Zee Tamil, and it's lauded by the audience for its unique and captivating storyline.

Synopsis
Aadhi is the sole heir of Saradha. He has been suffering from a heart ailment since young and requires a heart transplantation surgery to live. On his wedding day, he suffers a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital. He miraculously survives after undergoing a heart transplantation surgery in which he received the heart from Vasu, a young man from a middle class family and Bharathi's husband, who was brain dead because of a bike accident. After receiving a new life thanks to the new heart, he undergoes a profound change in his personality. His heart becomes tender and his eyes swell with tears whenever he sees Bharathi and her daughter Tamizh. His heart begins to palpitate at every instance with their presence. He falls in love with her without realizing it. The story is about what happens next in their lives.

Main

 * Janani Ashok Kumar as Bharathi
 * Vasu's wife turned widow, Tamizh's mother and Aadhi's wife
 * Richard Jose as Aadhi
 * A famous businessman, who underwent a heart transplant using Vasu's heart, Shwetha's ex fiance, Bharathi's husband

Recurring

 * Aadhi's Family
 * Sankavi Rajendran as Shwetha (Antagonist)
 * Aadhi's ex fiancee, Arivu & Parvathy's daughter, Dhurai's wife
 * Sasilaya as Bhavani (Main Antagonist)
 * Egamparam's wife, Anandh's mother, Aadhi's father's murderer.
 * Sujatha Panju as Saradha
 * Aadhi's mother, Arivu & Bhavani's elder sister, Bharathi's mother in law
 * Isaac Varghese as Egamparam (Antagonist)
 * Aadhi's uncle, Bhavani's husband
 * Vasanth Gopinath as Arivu (Main Antagonist)
 * Aadhi's uncle, Shwetha's father, Vasu's murderer, Dhurai's father in law
 * Priyanka as Parvathy
 * Arivu's wife, Shwetha's mother, Dhurai's mother in law
 * Surjith Ansary as Anandh
 * Egamparam & Bhavani's son, Aadhi & Shwetha's cousin
 * Santhosh as Keshav
 * Aadhi's best friend and personal secretary, Latha's husband
 * Bharathi's Family
 * Ravi Chandran as Rathnam
 * Dhanam, Vasu and Dhurai's father, Maragatham's husband, Mani & Shwetha's father in law
 * Agalya Saro as Maragatham (Protagonist turned Antagonist)
 * Dhanam, Vasu and Dhurai's mother, Rathnam's wife, Mani & Shwetha's mother in law
 * Vetrivel as Mani (Antagonist)
 * Rathnam & Maragatham's son-in-law, Dhanam's Husband, Vasu and Dhurai's Brother-in-law
 * Sahana Chandirabal (2023) / Dheshika Jagannathan (2023-present) as Dhanam (Main Antagonist)
 * Rathnam & Maragatham's daughter, Mani's wife, Vasu and Dhurai's elder sister, Shwetha's sister in law
 * Annie Aaliya as Tamizharasi aka Tamizh
 * Vasu and Bharathi's daughter, Aadhi's step-daughter
 * Karuna Vilasini as Raani
 * Tamizh's caretaker appointed by Aadhi
 * Rajesh as Dhurai (Antagonist)
 * Dhanam and Vasu's younger brother, Sumathi's love interest, Shwetha's husband
 * Akshara as Sumathi
 * Dhurai's love interest
 * Geetha as Saraswathi
 * Bharathi's mother, Tamizh's grandmother, Aadhi's mother in law
 * Santhosh as Chithambaram
 * Bharathi's father, Tamizh's grandfather, Aadhi's father in law
 * Vishwanathan as Sekar
 * Vasu's friend
 * Dhachayani as Latha
 * Bharathi's best friend and colleague, Keshav's wife

Cameo Appearances

 * Puvi Arasu as Vasu (Episode: 1–7)
 * Bharathi's first husband, who passed away due to brain death from the bike accident plotted by Arivu and his heart was transplanted to Aadhi.
 * Ayesha Zeenath as Sathya / Soumya (Episode: 1–3 and 101–104)
 * Aadhi's friend, who poses as Aadhi's lover in front of Bharathi
 * Arun Padmanabhan as Saravanan
 * Aadhi's friend

Casting
Malayalam actor Richard Jose was cast as the male lead, making his Tamil debut. Janani Ashok Kumar, popular known face made her first female lead role in television. She also marks her return after Sembaruthi in Zee Tamil. Sujatha Panju was roped for an important role and Puvi was cast as Vasu in a cameo role.

Release
The first promo was released on 6 August 2023 featuring Janani Ashok Kumar, Richard Jose and Puvi Arasu, depicting the story with a song and revealing the leads. The second promo was unveiled on 17 August 2023, featuring protagonists Richard Jose and Janani Ashok Kumar, also revealing the release date and time.

It began airing on Zee Tamil on afternoon slot by replacing Kanaa time slot. In Singapore & Malaysia, Idhayam airs at 10.00pm SGT and 10.30pm MYT respectively.