Thatteem Mutteem

Thatteem Mutteem was a Malayalam-language sitcom that has broadcast on Mazhavil Manorama from 1 July 2012. It was one of Malayalam television's oldest and longest-running series, having premiered at the channel's launch. The show stars veteran actors K.P.A.C Lalitha, Manju Pillai, Jayakumar Parameswaran Pillai, Naseer Sankranthi, Bhagyalakshmi Prabhu, Sidharth Prabhu, Rajesh Paravoor, Shalu Kurian, Shara Sherly Samuel Koshy, Parvathy Lal and Anoop Vincent in lead roles. It has been critically acclaimed, winning the Kerala State Television Award for the Best Comedy Show in both 2014 and 2016.

The show went on an extended hiatus from November 11, 2022, returning to air with a new lead character, Madhuriamma, played by actress Bindu Panicker, on April 22, 2023. However, the show discontinued airing on July 2, 2023.

Broadcast
The first season of the show, which premiered in 2011, followed a sitcom format and broadcast every weekend for six years. The show switched to a prime time soap opera format on December 3, 2018, airing Monday through Friday at 9:00 p.m. IST. The show's format was changed to a weekend airing in late 2020.

In June 2023, the programme switched from airing on the weekends to Monday through Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. IST.

Death of lead actress
The series was on a temporary hiatus since January 2022 after lead actress K. P. A. C. Lalitha's illness, followed by her demise. The series resumed airing on April 16, 2022.

Season 1
The recurring theme is the dispute between Mayavathyamma and her daughter-in-law Mohanavalli, and the struggle of the children and Arjunan to resolve it. Although the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law often get into disagreements followed by a cat and mouse fight, they share mutual respect and love.

Arjunan's best friend, Kamalasanan, Mohanavalli's mother, Komalavalli, and Arjunan's sister, Kokila, pay them frequent visits, causing additional strife and drama in the family.

Season 2
The whole family moves to a new home after having a dispute with the son of the owner of their previous home.

The daughter of the Arjunan' family, Meenakshi is now married to Aadhi Shankaran. Meenakshi found out that Aadhi is a lazy employee and is the son of Pravasi Shankaran, who is a poor NRI owed to many debts, but she kept this a secret and marries him believing that she can change him. She shows the same trait as her mother by having disputes with her mother-in-law, Vasavadatha, the wife of Pravasi Shankaran, who became mentally ill after winning a lottery which put ends to their debts. Despite their hateful relationship, the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law duo loved each other and shared mutual respect.

Meanwhile, Arjunan's millionaire brother Sahadevan, his wife Vidhubala, and his three children, Chinnu, Chikku and Chinnan, arrive from the United States. They are the owners of the house to which Mayavathi and her family belong.

Kannan, the only son of Mohanavalli and Arjunan falls in love with Rosamma, a Christian girl after a series of events that disapproved of the family. But later, for the dowry, they agree to their marriage to pay off a loan taken for Meenakshi's wedding, but the plan fails when Kannan unknowingly informs Rosamma's parents that he wants nothing from them except for their daughter. Meenakshi gives birth to triplets - Kunjumani, Muthumani and Kuttappayi and not so late after, she goes to the UK as a nurse to pay off the loan.

Season 3
Mayavathi Amma, the house's sole breadwinner, has died, leaving Arjunan and Mohanavalli unsure how to maintain the household. In the meantime, Meenakshi has returned from London during the covid period. Mohanavally and Arjunan tried numerous methods to make a living but were unsuccessful. Only with the support of Sahadevan and Meenakshi are they able to advance in their lives. Meanwhile, Kannan and Rosamma's relationship grew stronger, and they married after overcoming several obstacles.

Season 4
Arjunan is retired from his government job in water authority, and Sahadevan lost his house and assets playing online rummy. Kannan's wife Rosamma now houses Arjunan and Sahadevan's family. They both travells to Punjab to visit Mayawati's long-eloped sister Madhuri in order to take possession of their deceased uncle's property. Meanwhile, Madhuri Amma arrives earlier at their home. Madhuri assists Mohanavally financially to stabilise her home by disguising herself for a former acquaintance of Mayavathi and then revealing her true identity. Arjunan and Kamalasalam found out that Sahadevan had lied about losing all of his assets, he then invites Arjunan's family to live in their former home.

Crossover episodes
In 2016 and 2021, the show aired crossover episodes with Marimayam, a situation comedy that airs on the same channel on weekends and depicts numerous painful and amusing scenarios while visiting government organisations. The special episodes were titled "Marithatteem Mayammutteem" and "Thatteem Mayam Mutteem Mayam" in 2016, and "Thatteem Mayam Mutteem Mayam" in 2021, respectively. The Onam celebrations were the backdrop for all of the special episodes.

Additional guests

 * Kaviyoor Ponnamma as herself, and Krishnan Vakkeel's co-star in a film (Season 1: Ep. 108)
 * Vishnu Unnikrishnan as himself (Season 2: Epi 189)
 * Bibin George as himself (Season 2: Epi 189)
 * K. T. S. Padannayil as Mohanavalli's uncle (Season 1: Ep 276)
 * Promy as Subru
 * Nitha Promy as Rukku
 * Vivek Pillay as Richard Buttenhole
 * Archana Menon as Adv. Kamala, Mohanavalli's friend (Season 1: Episode 306)
 * Mintu Maria Vincent as Mrunalini
 * Sini Prasad as Annamma Chacko, Arjunan's strict, new boss, executive engineer (Season 2: 313,314)
 * Sethu Lakshmi as Komalavally, Mohanavally's mother

Former cast

 * Bhagyalakshmi Prabhu / shara samuel koshy as Meenakshi; Mohanavalli and Arjunan's daughter. Mayavathi and Kommalavalli's granddaughter. Kannan's elder sister. Aadhi's wife.
 * Sagar Surya as Aadhi Shankaran / Aadhi; Vasavadatha and Shankaran's Only son. Meenakshi's husband.

Season 1
K. P. A. C. Lalitha and Manju Pillai play the role of the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law respectively. The mother-in-law outwits her daughter-in-law and is always ready to start a fight with her and the daughter-in-law rises to the occasion. Jayakumar plays Manju's husband who is a government officer unwilling to go to work and who lives on his mother's pension. Their children Kannan and Meenakshi were played by real-life siblings Siddharth and Bhagyalakshmi Prabhu. They were cast after the show creators were impressed by their performance in the reality TV show Veruthe Alla Bharya on Mazhavil Manorama, in which their parents were contestants. Bhagyalakshmi was studying in class 11 when she received the offer, she is a nursing graduate in real-life and in the show too. The children are one of the main attractions in the series as they frequently instigate fights between the two women. Naseer Sankranthi plays the role of Kamalasanan who is the best friend of Mahakavi Arjunan (Arjunan) and old classmate of Sahadevan, who boasts that he will be the Panchayat Member in the upcoming years.

Reception
The series is successful. Thatteem Mutteem is considered special because the show is recorded using "spot dialogue". This technique creates a natural sound and appearance. The artists behave as in real situations. In addition, the performance is natural and simple and the series is related to the current reality that led to its success.