Kaliveedu (transl. The House of Entertainment) is an Indian Malayalam-language soap opera directed by Dileep Kumar.[2] The show premiered on 15 November 2021 on Surya TV and aires on-demand through Sun NXT.[3] It stars Rebecca Santhosh and Nithin Jake Joseph[4] in lead roles along with Gayathri Mayura, Uma Nair, Krishna Prabha and Sreelatha Namboothiri in pivotal roles.[5][6][7][8] It is an official remake of Tamil TV series Roja.[9]

Kaliveedu
Title Intro
Malayalam	കളിവീട്
Genre	Soap opera
Based on	Roja by Saregama
Written by	M. C. Ratheesh
Screenplay by	M. C. Ratheesh
Story by	Vasubharathy
Directed by	Dileep Kumar Kannan Thamarakkulam
Creative director	M. C. Ratheesh
Starring	Rebecca Santhosh Nithin Jake Joseph (See below)
Voices of	Devi S.[1] K. S. Sidharthan Anju Bhagyalakshmi RJ Neenu
Music by	Sanand George
Opening theme	"Unarum Nilavu Polaval"
Composer	Sanand George
Country of origin	India
Original language	Malayalam
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	307
Production
Executive producer	Ravi Prasad
Producer	Shan A
Production location	Thiruvananthapuram
Cinematography	Anurag Guna Hemachandran
Editors	Ajay Prasannan Jerry Amal Chavara
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	20-25 minutes
Production company	Cyabio films
Distributor	Surya TV Sun NXT
Release
Original network	Surya TV
Picture format	576i SD 1080i HD
Original release	15 November 2021 (2021-11-15) – present
Chronology
Related	Sevanthi Roja (Telugu TV series) Sindoor Ki Keemat Saathi

Plot

Pooja is raised in an orphanage, Snehasadhanam by her foster-father Vishwanathan and has a sweet, kind disposition. She, in reality, is Anu, the long-lost daughter of Nandagopan and the late Arunima. She was separated from her family following an accident which killed her mother and supposedly her too. The accident was plotted by her paternal uncle, Shankar Ram for inheriting her father's wealth. She comes across her living father, Nandagopan and develops a bond with him, though unaware of their relationship. Arjun, humble despite his wealth, is a leading criminal lawyer. Pooja and Arjun meet several times and develop a mutual dislike for each other due to their contrasting personalities.

Vishwanathan rejects the business offer of Sakshi, a crooked businesswoman who wishes to buy Snehasadanam ashram. To get rid of Vishwanathan, she frames him for the murder of Theja with the help of Priya, another inmate of Snehasadanam. Nandagopan takes up the case. Priya masquerades herself as the long-lost Anu and returns to Nandagopan. Due to Pooja and Priya's varying statements on Theja murder Case, Nandagopan backs off from the case, causing Pooja to look for another lawyer. Pooja attempts to hire Arjun but he backs off citing that his fees is beyond her capacity.

Arunima's family reunites with fake Anu and decides to get her married to Arjun, who is her cousin. Arjun who loathes love and marriage refuses but eventually has to relent due to the family's pressure. In an attempt to break the marriage, he puts a condition ahead of Pooja to enter a one-year contract marriage with him in return for him acquitting her father without any fees. Without another choice, Pooja accepts the offer. The two get secretly married in a temple on Arjun's engagement day and start pretending like a married couple in front of the family. Priya along with Arjun's aunt, Madhumita, who hates Pooja because of a past incident tries to discredit and endanger Pooja several times but fails in every attempt. Over time, Arjun and Pooja develop a good friendship bond and Arjun falls for Pooja.

Arjun becomes distraught when he discovers the truth about Sakshi being the mastermind behind the Theja murder case. He reveals to Pooja that Sakshi was the ex-girlfriend of his best friend, Devan who suicided when he discovered Sakshi's evil side. This had implanted a hatred for love relations in Arjun's mind. Pooja and Arjun try to prove Sakshi guilty in the court, but fail. The family starts having suspicions about Priya being the real Anu. However, she clears the confusions with the help of Shankar Ram who teams up with her for financial gains. Pooja also develops romantic feelings for Arjun.

Akhil falls in love with a feisty girl, Sneha and tries to woo her. Meanwhile, his family decides to get him married to Priya.

Cast

Main

• Rebecca Santhosh as Pooja / Real Anu
  Adv. Nandagopan and Arunima's daughter, Anu, who was separated from her family as a toddler following an accident. Unaware of her true identity, she grew up as an orphan named Pooja in Snehasadanam Ashram. She married Arjun, her cousin, under a one-year contract in return for releasing her jailed foster father, Vishwanathan. She later falls in love with Arjun. (2021–present)[2]
• Nithin Jake Joseph as Adv. Arjun[10]
  A successful criminal lawyer; Arunima's nephew and Anu's cousin. Arjun, who disapproves of romantic love and marital relationships, enters into a contract marriage with Pooja to break his engagement with Priya and to stop any further marriage proposals from his family. However, he eventually changes his opinion on marriages and falls in love with Pooja. (2021–present)[2]

Recurring

• Gayathri Mayura as Priya[11] / Fake Anu
  A fellow inmate of Pooja in Snehasadanam who hates her since childhood. She is a criminally minded woman who forged herself as the long-lost Anu and made a fake murder accusation against Vishwanathan. Initially, she wishes to marry Arjun and then his brother, Akhil, for her secure future. (2021-present)[2]
• Uma Nair as Madhuri[12] Anand
  Arjun's mother; a devoted homemaker. She accepts Pooja as her daughter-in-law despite the disapproval of the rest of the family and develops a motherly bond with her. She is kind-hearted and soft-spoken and wishes to bind her family together. (2021-present)[6]
• Krishna Prabha as Madhumita[13][14] (Madhu)
  Arunima and Anand's younger sister; Arjun's paternal aunt. A crooked woman who has teamed up with Priya due to their common hatred towards Pooja. Her internal motive is to create problems in the family to gain power and money for herself. (2021-present)[2]
• Sreelatha Namboothiri[15] as Maheshwariyamma
  Arunima, Anand and Madhumita's mother and the family matriach. She is an affectionate and headstrong lady with her own views and ethics who is still mourning the death of her daughter, Arunima. She wishes Priya to be her granddaughter-in-law believing her to be the real Anu and therefore disapproves of Arjun's marriage with Pooja. (2021-present)
• Vijayakumari Ramesh[16] as Kanakam
  The long-time domestic help of Arjun's family who is considered as their family member. She finds Pooja lovable from the beginning and adores her. She is a bold lady who always supports her dear ones and is not hesitant to stand up against injustice. (2021-present)
• Shibu Laban as Vasanthan[17]
  Madhumita's henpecked husband; an unemployed amateur mimicry artist. He often teams up with Madhu and Priya to create confusion between Arjun and Pooja. (2021-present)
• Tony Antony (2021; 2022-present)[18][19] / Amith (2022)[2] as Anand
  Madhuri's husband, Arjun's father and Arunima's brother. He is a successful businessman. Even though he appreciates Pooja's qualities, he is yet to come to terms with Arjun's marriage to her and still internally wishes his sister's daughter to be his daughter-in-law.
• Jeevan Gopal as Akhil[20][21]
  Arjun's younger brother who takes care of the family business. He supports his brother's marriage and initially adored Pooja. Though he later starts hating her influenced by Priya's charm but soon discovers Priya's criminal actions and regains his respect towards Pooja. (2021-present)
• Amrutha Nair as Sneha
  Akhil's love interest. An LLB graduate, she is a no-nonsense girl and a trouble maker. (2022-present)[22]
• Lakshmi Keerthana[2] as Saayu
  Arjun's sister. A college student who supports her brother's love marriage and adores Pooja. (2021-present)
• Maneesha Jayasingh (2021-22)[23] / Alanteena (2022-present) as Sakshi
  A criminal-minded businesswoman; Priya's ally. She wishes to buy Snehasadanam for opening a resort and frames a murder case against Vishwanathan to gain the plot. She shares a past rivalry with Arjun which involves the suicidal death of his best friend, Devan after Sakshi's love betrayal. (2021-present)
• Mohan Ayroor[24][25] as Adv. Nandagopan Marar (Nandan)
  Pooja's father and Arunima's husband; a successful lawyer and businessman. He was elated to unite with Priya (believing her to be Anu) after spending years in sorrow believing her to be dead. He shares a fatherly bond with Pooja though unaware of each other's identities. He still cares for Pooja and Arjun in spite of them betraying his supposed daughter. (2021-present)
• Kiran as Georgekutty
  Arjun's legal assistant. He is loyal and respects Arjun and Pooja and often assists them in the Snehasadanam issue. He advises Arjun about married life, despite being unmarried himself. (2021-present)
• Nandana Thulasi as Jeena
  Pooja's best friend and colleague. She is the only person who knows about the truth of Pooja's marriage with Arjun. She shares a close bond with Pooja and finds Arjun's actions suspicious. (2021-present)
• Dr Jayan as Shankar Raman Marar[26]
  Nandagopan's younger brother. He pretends like a devoted younger brother to Nandan but is actually the one who plotted the accident that killed his brother's family twenty years back. His aim is to gain his brother's vast wealth after removing Priya from his way. (2021-present)
• Sethu Lakshmi[5] as Meenakshiyamma
  An inmate of Snehasadanam; Vasanthan's mother; Madhumita's mother-in-law. She was thrown out of her house by Madhu and was admitted to Snehasadanam by Pooja. (2021-present)
• Raghavan as Sabarmathi Vishwanathan[5]
  Pooja's foster-father and the establisher of the orphanage Snehasadanam Ashram. He was fakely accused of murder by Priya and Sakshi for claiming his plot containing the Ashram where they plan to open a resort. (2021-present)
• Neena Kurup as Arunima[5]
  Nandagopan's wife and Pooja's biological mother who is believed to be killed in an accident. She was a kind-hearted and loving woman and is greatly missed by her family. (2021-present)
• Sindhu Jacob as Athira
  Shankar's wife. She cares for her husband's family and grieves the tragedy that hit them. She is unaware of her husband's true face. (2021-present)
• Pradeep Prabhakhar as Sneha's father (2022-present)
• Indulekha as Geetha
  Sneha's mother (2022-present)
• Ranjith Raj as Jeevan
  A fraudster hired by Priya and Shankar to create problems in Arjun's family by making Sayu fall in love with him. (2022)
• Alif Shah as SP Kiran Kumar IPS
  A friend of Arjun who helps him in investigating Theja murder case. (2022-present)
• Kochu Preman[5] as Pankajakshan (Panku)
  An inmate of Snehasadanam; Meenakshi's husband; Vasanthan's father; Madhu's father-in-law. He and his wife were thrown out of their house by Madhu and later reached Snehasadanam. (2021)
• Subhash Menon[27] as Baiju Senapathi
  A renowned politician and Sakshi's father who supports her criminal activities. He is also a friend of Shankar Ram and was an active member in planning Nandagopan and his family's accident. (2021)
• Amboori Jayan[23] as Joseph
  A driver hired by Shankar to murder Nandagopan's family. He later repents his action and dies after confessing the truth to Nandagopan and Pooja. (2021)
• Aneesh as Sajan[28]
  Sakshi's goon who was part of the group which disposed of Theja's dead body. He later teams up with Arjun only to cheat him at the last moment. (2022)
• Venki as Harichand Theja
  Priya's ex-boyfriend who was murdered by Sakshi for framing Vishwanathan. (2021)
• Nancy as Laali/ Sithara
  An accomplice of Arjun who traps Vasanthan on a honey trap. (2022)
• Subeer Bavu as Sharath
  A former inmate of Snehasadanam. (2021)
• Satheesh Vettikkavala as Arjun's junior advocate (2021)
• Ashraf Pezhumoodu as Commissioner Padmakumar P IPS
  A police officer who helps Nandagopan in tracking his family's murderer. (2021)
• Vinayak as Rahul
  An ex-boyfriend of Priya with whom she breaks up because of his financial status. (2021)
• Anu Lakshmi as Shalini
  A young girl who attempts suicide believing that her lover was cheating on her. Arjun donates blood to save her life which also paves the way for his first meeting with Pooja. (2022)
• Fijo Pious as A man who disturbs Pooja (2021)

Guest

• Baby Ameya as Young Anu
  The Uppum Mulakum fame made a cameo appearance as a toddler Anu in the show's first episode. (2021)[5]
• Haritha G Nair as Keerthi
  Cameo appearance in promotional video as her character from soap opera Thinkalkalamaan. (2021)[29]
• Sindhu Varma[30] as Hema T.K
  Madhuri's childhood friend who teams up with her to stage a drama to persuade Pooja and Arjun to have kids. (2022)
• Tom Jacob as Mahesh Manjalikulam
  A man who gives charity donations in return for sexual favours from women. He repents his actions after getting a befitting reply from Pooja. (2022)
• Pala Aravindan as Padmanabhan
  A farmer who provides accommodation for Arjun and Pooja when they get lost in a jungle. (2022)
• Kalady Omana as Annamma
  Padmanabhan's wife. (2022)
• Shanthi Krishna as Herself
  A fictionalized version of herself as a well-wisher of Pooja. She plays a crucial role in making Pooja and Arjun accept their love for each other. (2022)[19]
• Stephy Leon as Bhavana
  Cameo appearance as her character from soap opera Bhavana. She helps Pooja meet Arjun while he is hospitalised. (2022)[31]

Production

Development

The show's launch was planned for April 2021 but was delayed until November due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[32] It was reported in October 2021, that Kaliveedu is an official remake of the popular Tamil soap opera Roja.[27]

Filming

The series is mainly filmed Thiruvananthapuram and its whereabouts.[18]

Casting

Rebecca Santhosh and Nithin Jake Joseph played the lead roles.

Rebecca Santhosh was cast as the protagonist while Nithin Jake Joseph was roped in to play the male lead.[27] Uma Nair confirmed her presence in October 2021.[24] Sreelatha Namboothiri, Tony, Krishna Prabha and Vijayalakshmi were also revealed to be part of the series.[16] Subhash Menon, Mohan Ayroor, Gayathri Mayoora and Jeevan Gopal were also reportedly cast.[27]

Neena Kurup and Baby Ameya made cameo appearances in the first episode. Veterans Sethu Lakshmi, Kochu Preman and Raghavan also featured in the show.[5]

In July 2022, Shanthi Krishna played a cameo appearance as herself.[2] In July 2022, actress Stephy Leon as Bhavana from TV series Bhavana made an entry.[31]

Release

The first promotional video of Kaliveedu featuring lead actress Rebecca Santhosh was released in September 2021.[33] The show premiered on Surya TV on 15 November 2021. It is telecasted every day at the 9:00 p.m. (IST) time slot.[34] On the digital platform, Kaliveedu is available for viewing on the app Sun NXT.[3]

Soundtrack

Reception

The show received positive response from the audience.[32][37][2]

Critical response

Reviewing the first episode of the show for The Times of India, Radhika Nair thought the show had an "Interesting storyline but lacked lustre". She further wrote: "the show lacks an X-factor to leave the telly audiences wanting for more".[5]

Adaptations

Awards

References

External links

• Official website (in English)
• Kaliveedu at IMDb