Kayal (TV series)

Kayal is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language television series starring Chaitra Reddy and Sanjeev Karthik, which itself loosely based on Tamil movie Manathil Urudhi Vendum. Kayal, a nurse, is the sole breadwinner of her family with two siblings where she has an 1 elder brother Moorthy youngest brother Anbuselvan and 2  younger sisters Anandhi and Devi siblings. She finds happiness in her sacrifice to meet the needs of her brothers Moorthy and Anbuselvan and sisters Anandhi and Devi.

It premiered on 25 October 2021 on Sun TV from Monday to Saturday and digital platform Sun NXT. The show director by P. Selvam and produced by Vision Time India Private Limited and Sun Entertainment.

Synopsis
Kayalvizhi alias Kayal, a hardworking woman is the only earner in her family. She faces many hurdles in her life, like her younger sister Devi and Vigneshwaran alias Vignesh's wedding, an uncle Dharmalingam alias Dharma determined for her downfall, and workplace harassment, and the story revolves around how she bravely fights these problems.

Main

 * Chaitra Reddy as Kayalvizhi  alias Kayal: (2021–present)
 * Sanjeev Karthik as Ezhilarasan Rajasekhar alias Ezhil / Kabilan: (2021–present)

Recurring

 * Vazhakku En Muthuraman as Dharmalingam alias Dharma: (2021–present)
 * Chandra Lakshman as Rajalakshmi: (2024-present)
 * Meenakumari as Kamatchi: Muthuvel's widow; (2021–present)
 * J.Durai Raj as Manoj:
 * Ayyappan as Moorthy Muthuvel: (2021–present)
 * Baby Dechina as Anu Moorthy: (2021-present)
 * Janaki Devi / Subha Geetha as Dhanalakshmi alias Dhanam Moorthy: (2021–present)
 * Gopi as Vigneshwaran alias Vignesh: (2021-present)
 * Ishwarya Ravichandran / Nila Gracy as Devi Vigneshwaran: (2021-present)
 * Avinash Ashok / Harry / Jeeva Rajendran as Anbuselvan Muthuvel alias (Anbu) :
 * Sathyapriya Sivasamy as Shalini Anbuselvan: (2023–present)
 * Abinavya Deepak as Anandhi Muthuvel: (2021–present)
 * Sebastian as Petter Arumugam: (2021–present)
 * Gayatri Jayaraman (2021-2022)/ Uma Riyaz Khan as Sivasankari Rajasekhar: (2022–present)
 * Muralidhar Raj as Rajasekhar: (2021–present)
 * Reehana as Prabhu's mother (2023–present)
 * Ravikumar as Prabhu's father; (2023–present)
 * Birla Bose as Inspector Vajravel (2023–present)
 * Sumangali as Vadivukarasi alias Vadivu Dharmalingam: (2021–present)
 * Fawaz Zayani as Subramaniyam alias Subramani Dharmalingam: (2021–present)
 * Hensha Deepan as Pavithra Subramaniyam: (2023–present)
 * Rothit Balaiah as Anand : (2021–present)
 * Kiran Mai as Aarthi Anand: (2021–present)
 * Hema Srikanth as Vedhavalli Chandrasekar: (2021–present)
 * VM Rajesh Kanna as Chandrasekar: (2021–present)
 * Ghouse Nisha as Uma Sethusingam / (Now Uma Arumuguram @ Petter): (2021–present)
 * Varun Udhai as Doctor Gowtham (2021–present)
 * Annapoorani as Vanitha (2021–present)
 * Suruli as Hospital Dean (2022–present)
 * Swathi Reddy as Ramya: (2021 - 2023)
 * Jeganathan as Ex-MLA Sethusingam: (2021 - Present)
 * Arandhangi Manjula as Uma's mother (2021 - 2022)
 * Sidharth Kapilavayi as Prabhu: (2023)
 * Bala Singh as Muthuvel: (Posthumous photographic appearance; 2024)
 * Bharathi Mohan as young Muthuvel

Special appearances

 * Gabriella Sellus as Sundari (2022)
 * Jishnu Menon as Karthick (2022)
 * Riya Manoj as Abhirami (2022)
 * Nidhish Kutty as Ilamukhil (2022)
 * Aadhish Jatti Jaganathan as Sumo (2022)
 * Nimeshika Radhakrishnan as Meera (2022)
 * Rahul Ravi as Yuva (2022)
 * Vadivukkarasi as Rajalakshmi (2023)
 * Aila Syed as Kayal and Ezhil’s daughter (2023)
 * Baladitya as Suryakumar: Kayal's fake husband (2023)
 * Anusha Prathap as Eshwari (2023)

Development
After the airing of the Sun TV's drama Abhiyum Naanum, its production company Vision Time India Pvt Ltd decide to produce Kayal. The concept of the show was originally based on K. Balachander's 1987 film Manathil Urudhi Vendum. This is the 15th serial produced for Sun TV. The first promo was released on 11 October 2021.

Casting
Actress Chaitra Reddy landed in lead role in the show, marking his return after Zee Tamil's drama Yaaradi Nee Mohini. while Sanjeev Karthik was cast opposite her. Actor 'Vazhakku En' Muthuraman was cast as the main antagonist Dharmalingam alias Dharma.

Gayatri Jayaraman selected to portray the role of Sivasankari Rajasekhar (Ezhilarasan's Mother) who played an negative role, but in February 2022 she quit the series and it was replaced by Uma Riyaz Khan. On 15 May 2024, actress Chandra Lakshman was cast as portray the role who played a negative role.

Distribution
The series was released on 25 October 2021 on Sun TV and digital platform Sun NXT.

Soundtrack
Title song of this series is based on the song "Kannin Maniye" from Manathil Urudhi Vendum.

Reception
The show climbed to Top 5 most-watched shows across all GECs, after only a few weeks of its launch. The show also gave tough fight to Bharathi Kannamma that aired on Star Vijay.

Kayal became one of the most watched Tamil television program garnering from its launch week in 2021. In August 2023, the series was the first most watched Tamil-language television series with 12.87 TVR (Highest Trp ratings of this serial).