Manjil Virinja Poovu Explained

Native Name:
Genre:	Soap opera
Creator:	Prabha Unnithan
Developer:	Sree Movies
Director:	Rajeev Nedumkandom Krishnaprasad
Starring:	Malavika Wales Rekha Ratheesh
Opentheme:	Sanand George
Country:	India
Language:	Malayalam
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	1525
Executive Producer:	Rameez Kabeer Sreekumar Mulayara
Producer:	Suresh Unnithan
Cinematography:	Baiju Gopal Joy Robinson Amal
Editor:	Ajay Prasannan Aneesh Unnithan
Runtime:	20–22 minutes
Network:	Mazhavil Manorama

Manjil Virinja Poovu is an Indian Malayalam-language television drama. It aired from 4 March 2019 to 21 July 2024 on Mazhavil Manorama and streams on ManoramaMax.^[1] The show is produced by Prabha Unnithan under the banner of Sree Movies. It stars Malavika Wales in the main lead role along with Rekha Ratheesh, Yuva Krishna and Akhil Anand.^[2] It is one of the top-rated TV series in Mazhavil Manorama since its inception.^[3] It is currently the longest ran soap opera in Malayalam.

Plot

The series portrays the story of a young girl Anjana Shankaran who worked as a worker in a tea plantation who later became a District Collector and at last became The Chief Minister of Kerala. The story revolves around the sudden happenings in the life of Anjana.

Cast

Main

• Malavika Wales as Chief Minister Anjana Shankaran IAS: First female Chief Minister of Kerala; Former sub-collector of Devikulam; Manu's wife.^{[4] [5]}
• Rekha Ratheesh as Mallika Prathap: Anjana's mother-in-law
• Yuva Krishna as Manu Prathap: Anjana's husband.^[6]
• Eileen Eliza / Anuvinda as Chithira : daughter of Anjana and grand daughter of Mallika
• Shalu Menon as Prathibha^[7]
• Saniya Rafi / Aarcha as Niranjana Vinayan, daughter of Vinayan and Lekshmi
• Vineetha Devadas as Sreeja, domestic help and Mallika's assistant
• Leswin as Simon, Pratibha's adopted grandson
• Adhil as Hari, Mahesh's son

Recurring

• Sana Sree as Raziya Fathima IPS, daughter of Azadi
• Sona Nair as Sudha
• Gayathri Ramesh as Anarkali
• Akhina Shibu as Suja, former caretaker of Prathibhamma. Wife of Shaji.
• Manish Krishna as Mahesh, auto driver,Mallika and Chithira's caretaker
• Thomas Kuriakose as Ajay Naik
• Lakshmi Surendran as Daisy

Former suporting cast

• Akhil Anand as Pichathi Shaji,^[8] biological son of Raghuram. Husband of Suja.
• Jismy / Lekshmi Surendran /Jismy as Sona, Rajeevnath' s daughter and Vinay's Wife
• Dominic Chittat as Nayik
• Bimal Joy as Ananthan, Shaji's friend and assistant
• Joe Varghese as Vinayan, son of Prathiba and Das. Husband of Sona. Foster son of Bhaskaran.
• Akhilesh as Rajeevnath, former CEO of Corporate India and Sona's father
• Geetha as Sreelekha IPS
• Jolly Easow
• Maneesha K. Subrahmaniam as Renuka a.k.a Captian, Chithira's step mother
• Sindhu Jacob as Mariam Lucos, MLA
• Daveed John as Commissioner Sethupathi IPS^[9]
• Swathi Thara as Leona Alex, Head of UK spring crown consultancy who places Anjana as the Chief consultant
• Vriddhi Vishal as Anumol.^[10]
• Justin George Mathew as Arun, childhood friend of Anjana, Anjana's ex-lover
• Anas Abbas as Anoop
• Resh Lakshna as Maya, ex-lover of Manu
• Pinky Kannan as Teena, Mallika's Personal assistant
• Vikraman as Shankaran, Anjana's Father
• Ajoobsha as Praveen
• Prajusha as Sister
• Vinod Nair as Manager
• Givanios Pullan
• Anusree (Prakrithi) as Young Mallika
• Stelna as Mallika's mother
• Arun Mohan as Krishnadas, husband of Prathiba
• Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Madhavan, Anjana's driver
• Hari Shankar as Commissioner Raghu Raj IPS
• Anil K Sivaram as Indran
• Rijin Raj as Girish, son of Mulamoottil Shekaran. Brother of Rejitha.
• ____ as Mulamoottil Shekaran. Father of Girish and Rejitha. Former driver of Raghuram. Later a businessman and a criminal. Second husband of Reghuram's widow.
• RJ Kripesh as Praveen.
• Neeraja Pillai as Rejitha, daughter of Mulamoottil Shekaran. Sister of Girish.
• Renu as Mathiparu
• ____ as Pushpa
• ____as Kalyani, domestic help of PK NILAYAM
• Jayan as Dr.Janardhanan
• Syam S Namboothiri as Jayalal
• Chandrabhanu Sahiti as Driver Chandran
• Binil Khader as Sabu Cherian, friend and former classmate of Manu Prathap.
• Rajesh Narayanan as Kanneth Krishnan, CPC member.
• Pramod Mani as Bimal Krishnan. Son of Kanneth Krishnan. Friend of Moncy. One of the two young men who kidnaps Bhaskaran, shoots Bhaskaran to death, and repeatedly tries to kill Anjana. Later killed by Anjana.
• Jasmir Khan as Moncy. Friend of Bimal Krishnan. One of the two young men who kidnaps Bhaskaran, shoots Bhaskaran to death, and repeatedly tries to kill Anjana. Later killed by Anjana.
• Priyanka Chandran as Valli
• Murugan Panavila as former police officer Joseph Samuel.
• Bijikumar as Constable
• Shobi Thilakan as Bhaskaran^[11]
• Kiran Raj as Mohammad bin Azadi, drug mafia and underworld don.
• Adarsh as Shine
  • Auto driver
• Athira Praveen as Leomi
• Bindu Krishna as Leomi's mother
• Ravikrishnan Gopalakrishnan as Sharma
• Shanal Chandran as Akbar Azadi

Guest

• Shwetha Menon as herself^[12]
• Neena Kurup as Mary
• Arun G Raghavan as Sudev

Notes and References

1. Web site: Manjil Virinja Poovu Mazhavil Manorama Serial From 4th March 2019 At 7.30 P.M. keralatv.in. 28 February 2019.
2. Web site: Manjil Virinja Poovu -New serial on Mazhavil Manorama launching on 4th March 2019 . vinodadarshan.com. 24 March 2019.
3. Web site: Vanambadi to Uppum Mulakum: Here are the most popular Malayalam TV serials in 2019. The Times of India. 27 December 2019. 5 July 2022.
4. News: 'Manjil Virinja Poovu' to surprise fans with a new twist; Anjana to become a chief minister?. The Times of India. 25 July 2022 .
5. Web site: Sumithra to Anjana: Take inspiration from these Malayalam TV characters this Women's Day. The Times of India.
6. Web site: From modelling to mentalism: Manjil Virinja Poovu's Manu aka Yuva Krishna unveils his lesser known side. The Times of India. 16 July 2020. 5 July 2022.
7. Web site: 10 stunning looks of actress Shalu Menon. The Times of India. 19 December 2021. 5 July 2022.
8. Web site: "I used to secretly apply for auditions when I was 10," says Manjil Virinja Poovu's Pichathi Shaji aka Akhil Anand. The Times of India. 7 July 2020. 5 July 2022.
9. Web site: Daveed John on playing four characters in four TV shows simultaneously: I wish to be known as a good actor than a busy artist. The Times of India. 4 August 2021. 5 July 2022.
10. Web site: Child actor Vriddhi Vishal of 'Manjil Virinja Poovu' fame recreates Manju Warrier's iconic scene from Kanmadam; watch. The Times of India. 16 August 2021. 5 July 2022.
11. Web site: Manjil Virinja Poovu actor Shobi Thilakan wins the Kerala State Film Awards for the best dubbing artist. The Times of India. 17 October 2021. 5 July 2022.
12. Web site: Shwetha Menon to play an extended cameo in 'Manjil Virinja Poovu'; details inside. The Times of India. 1 November 2021. 5 July 2022.