Paarijatham (2008 TV series)

Paarijatham (English: Night Flowering Jasmine) was a popular Malayalam soap opera, broadcast on Asianet from October 2008 to April 2011 on weekdays at 7:30 PM IST. It replaced the first season of Hello Kuttichathan series by Baiju Devaraj.

The series was a major success in Malayalam television, with 643 episodes. This was a production by Sandra Communications after the success of Ente Manasaputhri on the same channel. Popular Malayalam television actress Rasna made her debut in this series which had Arun Ghosh and South Indian actress Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran in lead roles.

The series has been remade in Tamil under the same title with Rasna essaying the lead role, which aired on Star Vijay. The serial was also made in Kannada with the same title on Asianet Suvarna.

The show retelecasted on Asianet Plus on 21 March 2016, featuring its past episodes.

Plot
The story revolves around identical twin sisters, Aruna and Seema, who are poles apart. They come from a middle-class family. Aruna is a shy, simple, down-to-earth and soft-spoken girl, whereas Seema is bold, daring, modern and outgoing. Seema is more educated than Aruna. Aruna dreams of a simple married life with a loving husband, but Seema wants an extremely rich husband, who can provide her a luxurious life with all the riches.

Jayapal is the son of a business magnate, Gangadhara Menon, and is heir to millions, but he is an arrogant, spoiled womaniser. Aruna works in the town, while Seema is unemployed and enjoys life. Seema likes Jayapal because he is wealthy, but Jayapal falls in love with Aruna. He does not know that Seema and Aruna are twins.

Jayapal proposes to Aruna and they decide to marry, but Jayapal's stepmother, Lalitha Bai, poisons Jayapal's mind against Aruna and stops him from marrying her. Meanwhile, Seema marries Mohan, a friendly and nice man. Later, under dire circumstances, Jayapal and Aruna are forced to marry each other. Aruna still loves Jayapal, but he hates her and has turned into a drunk womaniser again. Jayapal and Lalitha abuse and torture the meek Aruna, until Seema in disguise as Aruna fights back. The story is about how Aruna wins back Jayapal's love and reforms him with the help of her sister Seema and father-in-law Gangadhara Menon. Lalitha Bai is put out of the house.

Later, Aruna and Jayapal have a son, Chandru. Seema and Mohan have a daughter, Haritha. Aruna and her son are arrogant because of their wealthy lifestyle but later reform. Lalitha Bai uses Chandru to get back into JP's house. Then a series of plots and melodrama begins again. She puts the whole family in trouble by making Chandru a spoiled brat. After so many fights between Seema and Lalitha Bai, Seema wins at last. Lalitha Bai is suffering from cancer and is fighting death. In the climax, Lalitha Bai becomes good but dies while Aruna gives birth to her second child.

Cast

 * Rasna as Seema Mohan / Aruna Jayapal (Double role)
 * Arun Ghosh as Jayapal a.k.a. JP
 * Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran as Lalitha Bai a.k.a. Auntyamma
 * Ravi Vallathol as Gangadhara Menon
 * Shaju Sreedhar as Mohan
 * Srihari as Ayyappan
 * Vijayakumari as Bharathi
 * Ambika Mohan as Mohan's mother
 * Mahesh as Unnithan
 * Maneesh Krishna as Balan
 * Subash Menon as Soman
 * Sree Lakshmi as Jolly
 * Priya Mohan
 * Prajusha as Susan
 * Manu Nair
 * Rekha Krishnappa
 * Deepika Mohan
 * Sreelatha Menon
 * K. P. A. C. Leelamani

Asianet Television Awards 2011

 * Best Serial
 * Best Actor: Arun Ghosh
 * Best Actress: Rasna
 * Special Jury Award for Actor: Ravi Vallathol
 * Best Actress in a Negative Role: Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran