Serials based on heroes and heroines of the epics and the Hindu pantheon of Gods have long been the forte of this production house that is in the name of P. Subramaniam, the founder of Merryland Studios. ‘Devi Mahatmyam' on Asianet is another success story of this team. S. Karthikeyan, son of Subramanian, is the man behind this long-running serial that continues to make the most of the legends of the Mother Goddess. Excerpts from an interview, when he talks about the serial and its appeal to viewers.
On its enduring popularity among viewers
We have crossed 840 episodes and are still going strong. Although the timing of its telecast was changed a number of times, the viewership of ‘Devi Mahatmyam' did not suffer. Initially, we began with the legend of the Mother Goddess and the stories associated with her benevolence and divine powers. Then we moved on to include the legends and the stories about famous Devi temples in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Role of the Devi
For all these years, Praveena has continued to play the lead role of the Goddess. Despite her hectic schedule, she has given priority to this serial. Right now, the story revolves around characters Mallika and Chinnu (enacted by Harsha and Lekshmi) who are on a pilgrimage to Devi temples in South India.
Language no bar
The appeal of the serial is not limited to Malayalam. It is dubbed into Tamil and Telugu and telecast in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu too. The director is Sivamohan Thampy.
Shooting locations
Since, we are also covering major temples in the South, there is a great deal of travel involved. Moreover, we have a Chennai-based research team who delve into the literature about a temple and its deity. As far as it is possible, we try to garner information about the history of the temple, rituals and major festivals.
Singers and lyricists
Even the songs and lyrics of the serial have become a hit. Playback singers Madhu Balakrishnan, Sujatha, Swetha and Manjari have sungs for the serial while the names of lyricist include O.N.V. Kurup, S. Ramesan Nair and Chunakkara Ramankutty.
