| Frequency: | Weekly |
| Category: | General |
| Company: | Vikatan Group Pvt. Ltd. |
| Country: | India |
Ananda Vikatan is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India.[1]
Ananda Vikatan was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 was not published due to financial difficulties. In January 1928 Subramaniam Srinivasan bought the rights from Vaidyanadhaiyer and relaunched the publication in February 1928 in a new format[2] He paid at the rate of ₹25 per alphabet in the Tamil language name (ஆனந்த விகடன்) of the publication to buy the rights.[3] He built it up into a weekly and sales soon rose. Veteran journalist and media personality and son of Subramaniam Srinivasan, S. Balasubramanian served as editor, managing director and publisher of the magazine for nearly 50 years till 2006.[4] He also started the "Manavar Thittam" or student journalism scheme that is active for the last 30 years and counting. He also launched Junior Vikatan, a biweekly Tamil investigative journal in the 1980s. He continues to be Chairman Emeritus of the group after handing over the reins to his son B. Srinivasan.
Vikatan Televistas was launched by Vasan Publications in the late 1990s starting with Mega-serials on Sun TV such as Thirumathi Selvam and Thendral. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic it withdrew from Sun TV and decided to move and go ahead with other channels too.[5] Since 2021, it has been producing and making stories for Star Vijay.It debuted with various shows such as Thamizhum Saraswatiyum and Siragadikka Aasai. In the year of 2023, it also debuted in Kalaignar TV with the show RanjithameIn 2024, Vikatan Televistas debuted in Hindi television industry by Co-producing Udne Ki Aasha for StarPlus.[6]
The company ventured into film production as Vikatan Talkies, and successfully made the comedy Siva Manasula Sakthi starring Jiiva and Anuya that launched the career of the director Rajesh. They then followed this with the commercially unsuccessful byVaalmiki.[7] The media house still produces a variety of programs for television and has branched out into various streams of media content with an online digital broadcast of snippets of news, views, interviews etc.[5]
| Series | Original run | Number of episodes | Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akshaya | 1999 | 50 | Sun TV | |
| Panchavarnakili | 2000 | |||
| Alaigal | 29 October 2001-24 May 2003 | 403 | ||
| Avargal | 2002-2004 | |||
| Appa | 2003 | |||
| Alli Rajyam | 2005 | 60 | ||
| Kolangal | 24 November 2003-4 December 2009 | 1533 | ||
| Thirumathi Selvam | 5 November 2007- 22 March 2013 | 1360 | ||
| Thendral | 7 December 2009-17 January 2015 | 1340 | ||
| Deivamagal | 25 March 2013-17 February 2018 | 1466 | ||
| Priyamanaval | 19 January 2015-12 May 2019 | 1315 | ||
| Nayaki | 19 February 2018-31 October 2020 | 718 | ||
| Run | 5 August 2019-30 March 2020 | 197 | ||
| Sravani Subrahmanyam | 18 July 2011-27 July 2012 | 266 | Gemini TV | |
| Devatha | 12 January 2009-31 May 2013 | 1142 | Gemini TV | |
| Ilam Thennal Pole | 28 November 2011-20 July 2012 | 170 | ||
| Thangali | 5 December 2011-4 October 2013 | 472 | ||
| Thamizhum Saraswathiyum | 12 July 2021 –19 April 2024 | 717 | Star Vijay | |
| Siragadikka Aasai | 23 January 2023–present | 400+ | Star Vijay | |
| Ranjithame | 21 July 2023–present | 230+ | Kalaignar TV | |
| Budget Kudumbam | 29th January 2024-present | 100+ | DD Podhigai | |
| Udne Ki Aasha | 12 March 2024 - present | 080+ | StarPlus |
| Series | Original run | Number of episodes | Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November Story | 2021 | 7 | Disney+ Hotstar (Tamil) | |
| Vallamai Tharayao | 2020-2021 | 80 | Vikatan TV | |
| Aadhalinal Kaadhal Seiveir | 2021 | 80 | Vikatan TV | |
| Uppu Puli Kaaram | 30 May 2024-present | 08 | Disney+ Hotstar (Tamil) | |
| Lingam | - | Disney+ Hotstar (Tamil) |
See main article: Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards. The awards ceremony has been held since 2008, with the most recent being in January 2019.[8]
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, for the period of July–December 2004, circulation stood at 430,534 per week. This represents a 22 per cent growth over the previous half-year period.
Ananda Vikatan has had numerous sister magazines. These included Aval Vikatan, Chutti Vikatan, Doctor Vikatan, Junior Vikatan, Motor Vikatan, Naanayam Vikatan, Pasumai Vikatan, Sakthi Vikatan and TimePass. Cinema Vikatan is the YouTube channel that covers cinema.[9]