Ethirneechal (transl. Swimming against the tide) is a popular Indian Tamil-language drama television series, which is being airing on Sun TV. The first season of this series starred Madhumitha Hirannaiah, Kaniha, Priyadarshini Neelakandan and Haripriya Isai in lead roles. This show is being produced by Sun Entertainment and Thiruselvam Theatres. Dialogues were written by Sri Vidhya and written and directed by V. Thiruselvam.[2][3] The series is one of the most-popular and most-watched TV shows in Tamil Nadu from since it's launched.[4] The first season premiered on 7 February 2022, and ended on 8 June 2024 with 744 episodes.[5][6]
The second season of this series premiered on 23 December 2024 with title as Ethirneechal Thodargirathu (transl. Swimming against the tide 'Continues'). It stars Parvathy Venkatiramanan, replacing Madhumitha in the lead role, alongside Kaniha, Priyadarshini Neelakandan and Haripriya Isai.[7]
Nachiappan defies his rich, male chauvinist parents to marry the poorer Parvathi, and they raise their daughters Janani and Anjana in a joint family. Despite Nachiappan's controlling nature, he is wooed by a marriage proposal from business tycoon Aadhimuthu Gunasekaran alias AGS for his brother Shakthivel. Unaware of the mistreatment of Gunasekaran's daughters-in-law Eshwari, Renuka, and Nandini & Janani Nachiappan falls for the lie that Janani will be appointed as MD in Gunasekaran's company. Eventually, Janani, a high achiever, marries Shakthivel, the youngest brother in the Aadhimuthu family.
As time passes, Janani learns the harsh reality of her in-laws' treatment of women. Her husband Shakthivel, haunted by childhood trauma, lacks the courage to confront his family. Janani's cousin Vasu warns her, but she proceeds with the marriage. Initially supportive, Shakthivel turns against Janani due to emotional manipulation from his elder brother Gunasekaran.
Janani's co-sisters Eshwari, Renuka, and Nandhini – are also educated women married to uneducated husbands in the Aadhimuthu family. The sisters face restrictions and are forced to be housekeepers by their controlling husbands – Aadhimuthu Gunasekaran, Aadhimuthu Gnanasekaran, Aadhimuthu Kathirvel, and Aadhimuthu Shakthivel. The story unfolds as Janani faces the challenges within her new family, aiming to bring about positive change with the help of Pattammal, Gunasekaran's grandmother.
Janani, standing against male chauvinism, leaves the Aadhimuthu household after Shakthivel doubts her character. Pattamal, who holds a 40% share in Aadhimuthu properties and businesses, joins Janani against Gunasekaran for the rights of Janani and the other daughters-in-law.
Guided by advice from Pattammal, Janani returns to help her co-sisters gain independence. Shakthivel realizes his mistakes, and the story unfolds as Janani strives to empower herself and her co-sisters against the backdrop of family dynamics and societal challenges. How Janani will strengthen herself and liberate her co-sisters forms the crux of the story.
At the end of season 1, Gunasekaran is found guilty of all his crimes and is sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. Motivated by Pattammal, all the four daughters in law leave the Aadhimuthu household to pursue their dreams.
Season 2
After 6 Months The Story Continues from the End of Season 1. After the defeat of Aadhimuthu Gunasekaran, Janani and the rest of the women in the household leave to pursue their dreams. However, Gunasekaran, though defeated, continues to create obstacles for these women in subtle and disruptive ways.
A twist of fate changes the power play in the family when Gunasekaran transfers all his properties to his Third brother of Aadhimuthu family, Aadhimuthu Kadhirvel shocking everyone. The nature of that power play changes family dynamics and prepares the ground for Kadhirvel as the new antagonist. Now Kathirvel utilizing this newfound power, adopts an oppressive stance similar to Gunasekaran’s and becomes obstacle for Janani and the other women in the family. How Janani and the rest of the women overcome the family dynamics and societal challenges forms the crux of the story.
Cast and characters
Season 1
Main
Madhumitha Hirannaiah as Janani Shakthivel: Nachiyappan and Parvathi's elder daughter; Anjana's sister; Sriram and Vasu's cousin; Gowtham's best friend; Aadhimuthu Shakthivel's wife.
Kaniha as Eshwari Gunasekaran: Sethuraman and Savitri's daughter; Jeevanandham's ex-love interest; Aadhimuthu Gunasekaran's wife; Dharshan and Dharshini's mother
Haripriya Isai as Nandhini Kathirvel: Ramachandran and Valliammal's daughter; Aadhimuthu Kathirvel's wife; Thara's mother
Supporting
Vela Ramamoorthy as Aadhi Gunasekaran aka AGS: Adhimuthu and Visalatchi's Eldest son;Gnanam, Kathir, Shakti and Aadhirai's brother; Eshwari's husband; Dharshan and Dharshini's father (Oct.2023-Jun.2024)
G. Marimuthu as Aadhi Gunasekaran aka AGS (2022-Sep.2023)
Sabari Prasanth as Aadhimuthu Shakthivel aka Shakthi: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's youngest son;Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir and Aadhirai's brother; Janani's husband
Vibhu Raman as Aadhimuthu Kathirvel aka Kathir: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's Third son; Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Shakti and Aadhirai's brother; Nandhini's husband; Thara's father
Kamalesh PK as Aadhimuthu Gnanasekaran aka Gnanam: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's Second son;Gunasekaran, Kathir, Shakti and Aadhirai's brother; Renuka's husband; Aishwarya's father
Sathyapriya as Visalatchi: Aadhimuthu's widow;Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir, Shakthi and Aadhirai's mother; Dharshini, Dharshan, Aishwarya and Thara's grandmother
Vimalkumar J as Karikalan: Jhansi Rani and Ramalingam's son; Aadhirai's ex-husband
Sathya Devarajan as Aadhiraiselvi Aadhimuthu alias Aadhirai: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's daughter; Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir and Shakthi's sister; Arun's ex-lover; Karikalan's ex-wife
Monisha Vijay as Priyadharshini Gunasekaran aka Dharshini: Gunasekaran and Eshwari's daughter; Dharshan's sister; Aishwarya and Thara's cousin
Rithik Raghavendra as Priyadharshan Gunasekaran aka Dharshan: Gunasekaran and Eshwari's son; Dharshini's brother; Aishwarya and Thara's cousin
Aishwarya Rathinam as Aishwarya Gnanasekaran aka Aishu: Gnanasekaran and Renuka's daughter; Dharshini, Dharshan and Thara's cousin
Farzana Ansari as Thara Kathirvel: Kathirvel and Nandhini's daughter; Dharshini, Dharshan and Aishwarya's cousin
Bombay Gnanam as R.Pattammal MA: Aadhimuthu's mother; Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir, Shakthi and Aadhirai's grandmother
V. Thiruselvam as Jeevanandham:social activist; Eshwari's ex-love interest and friend; Kayalvizhi's widower; Venba's father
Baby Deepti Shri as Venba Jeevanandham: Jeevanandham and Kayalvizhi's daughter
Radhika Vairavelavan as Charubala Rajavarman: SKR's wife; Gunasekaran's ex-love interest
Gaayathri Krishnan as Jhansi Rani: Ramalingam's second wife; Karikalan's mother
Som Soumyan as Nachiyappan: Parvathi's husband; Janani and Anjana's father
Keerthana as Parvathi: Thiruvengadam's sister; Nachiyappan's wife; Janani and Anjana's mother
Swetha Senthilkumar as Anjana Sidharth: Nachiyappan and Parvathi's younger daughter; Janani's sister; Sriram and Vasu's cousin; Sidharth's wife (2023-2024)
VJ Thara as Anjana Sidharth (2022)
Vaishnavi Nayak as Nivashini alias Vasu: Thiruvengadam and Padmavathi's daughter; Sriram's sister; Janani and Anjana's cousin
Subramani as Killivalavan aka Valavan: Ex-police officer; Gunasekaran's crime partner and Kayalvizhi's murderer
Goudham Krishnan as Gowtham: Janani's best friend
Ziba Shirin as Farhana: Jeevanandham's sidekick
RJ Nelu as Krishna Swamy Meyyappan: Meyyappan and Rajalakshmi's Younger Son, Janani and Anjana's cousin
Maaran Chandrasekaran as Ramasamy Meyyappan: Meyyappan and Rajalakshmi's Elder Son, Krishna Swamy's brother, Janani and Anjana's cousin
Bindhu Pankaj as Umayal Ramanathan: Nachiyappan's elder sister; Janani and Anjana's aunt
T. K. Kala as Meyyappan's,Nachiyappan's and Umayal's mother; Janani and Anjana's grandmother
VJ Keerthi as Keerthi: Umayal's daughter; Janani and Anjana's cousin
Dinesh Mourougane as Sidharth: Umayal’s son; Anjana’s husband
Muthu Lakshmi as Rajalakshmi: Meyyapan's wife; Ramasamy and Krishnasamy's mother
Vasudevan Venugopal as Subramaniam Krishnamoorthy Rajavarman alias SKR: Arasu, Arun and Karthikeyan's brother; Charubala's husband; Gunasekaran's former MD and now his business-rival
Chaanakyaa as Arunkumar alias Arun: SKR's second younger brother; Aadhirai's ex-lover
Giri Dwarakish as Arasu: SKR's first younger brother
Madhu Karthik as Karthikeyan: SKR's youngest brother
Apollo Ravi as Kadambavanam: Gunasekaran's sidekick
Vishnu Vasudev as Sethuraman: Savitri's widower; Eshwari's father; Dharshan and Dharshini's grandfather
Subhashini as Valliammal: Nandhini's mother; Thara's grandmother
Bharathi Kannan as Kovai Subaiah: Visalatchi's younger brother
Balaji as Thiruvengadam: Parvathi's brother; Padmavathi's husband; Sriram and Vasu's father
Vasavi as Padmavathi: Thiruvengadam's wife; Sriram and Vasu's mother
Subramanian Gopalakrishnan as Sriram: Thiruvengadam and Padmavathi's son; Vasu's brother; Janani and Anjana's cousin
Dhatachani Santho as Kotravai IPS: Special Officer for investigating Dharshini's case
Johithya as Ilaveni: Jeevanandham's sidekick
Archana as Rani: Maid in Gunasekaran's house
Sabarish Selvaraj as Kumar: Arasu's sidekick
Anbarasi as Anbarasi: Janani's friend
Jillu Vikram as Vikram: Janani's friend
Abinaya as Kathija: Janani's friend
Merwen Balaji as Kedhar: Janani's friend
Sudha Pushpa as Savithri: Sethuraman's wife; Eshwari's mother; Dharshan and Dharshini's grandmother (Dead)
Special appearances
Baby Ahana as young Janani
Bhavana as young Eshwari
Prashanth as Young Jeevanandham
Hema Dayal as Kundavai Duraisaami: Shakthivel's ex-fiancé
Jayashree as Jayashree Chandrasekhar: Chairman of Dharshan's college
Meena Kumari as Kayalvizhi: Jeevanandham's wife; Venba's mother (Dead)
Abhinaya Palaniswamy as Kalaiarasi: Pattamal's nurse
Kotravai as Meenakshi: A lawyer of Eswari
Season 2
Main
Parvathy Venkitaramanan as Janani Shakthivel: Nachiyappan and Parvathi's elder daughter; Anjana's sister; Sriram and Vasu's cousin; Gowtham's best friend; Aadhimuthu Shakthivel's wife.
Kaniha as Eshwari Gunasekaran: Sethuraman and Savitri's daughter; Jeevanandham's ex-love interest; Aadhimuthu Gunasekaran's wife; Dharshan and Dharshini's mother
Haripriya Isai as Nandhini Kathirvel: Ramachandran and Valliammal's daughter; Aadhimuthu Kathirvel's wife; Thara's mother
Supporting
Vela Ramamoorthy as Aadhi Gunasekaran aka AGS: Adhimuthu and Visalatchi's Eldest son;Gnanam, Kathir, Shakti and Aadhirai's brother; Eshwari's husband; Dharshan and Dharshini's father; Jailed
Sabari Prasanth as Aadhimuthu Shakthivel aka Shakthi: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's youngest son;Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir and Aadhirai's brother; Janani's husband
Vibhu Raman as Aadhimuthu Kathirvel aka Kathir: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's Third son; Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Shakti and Aadhirai's brother; Nandhini's husband; Thara's father
Kamalesh PK as Aadhimuthu Gnanasekaran aka Gnanam: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's Second son;Gunasekaran, Kathir, Shakti and Aadhirai's brother; Renuka's husband; Aishwarya's father
Sathyapriya as Visalatchi: Aadhimuthu's widow;Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir, Shakthi and Aadhirai's mother; Dharshini, Dharshan, Aishwarya and Thara's grandmother
Vimalkumar J as Karikalan: Jhansi Rani and Ramalingam's son; Aadhirai's ex-husband
Monisha Vijay as Priyadharshini Gunasekaran aka Dharshini: Gunasekaran and Eshwari's daughter; Dharshan's sister; Aishwarya and Thara's cousin
Rithik Raghavendra as Priyadharshan Gunasekaran aka Dharshan: Gunasekaran and Eshwari's son; Dharshini's brother; Aishwarya and Thara's cousin
Prajna Rani Aravind as Thara Kathirvel: Kathirvel and Nandhini's daughter; Dharshini, Dharshan and Aishwarya's cousin
Mai Jananee as Aishwarya Gnanasekaran aka Aishu: Gnanasekaran and Renuka's daughter; Dharshini, Dharshan and Thara's cousin
Sathya Devarajan as Aadhiraiselvi Aadhimuthu alias Aadhirai: Aadhimuthu and Visalatchi's daughter; Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir and Shakthi's sister; Arun's ex-lover; Karikalan's ex-wife
V. Thiruselvam as Jeevanandham:social activist; Eshwari's ex-love interest and friend; Kayalvizhi's widower; Venba's father
Baby Deepti Shri as Venba Jeevanandham: Jeevanandham and Kayalvizhi's daughter
Bombay Gnanam as R.Pattammal MA: Aadhimuthu's mother; Gunasekaran, Gnanam, Kathir, Shakthi and Aadhirai's grandmother
Radhika Vairavelavan as Charubala Rajavarman: SKR's wife; Gunasekaran's ex-love interest
Som Soumyan as Nachiyappan: Parvathi's husband; Janani and Anjana's father
Gayathri Raja as Arivukkarasi: Poster Periyasami's elder daughter
Sherine Farhana as Anbukkarasi: Poster Periyasami's younger daughter
Lakshmikanthan Sridharan as Mullaivendan: Arivukkarasi and Anbukkarasi's cousin
Special appearances
Baby Ahana as young Janani
Jayashree as Jayashree Chandrasekhar: Chairman of Dharshan's college
Production
Development
In later September 2021, Sun Network[8] confirmed through a press release that it would distribute the new Tamil serial, to be produced by Sun Entertainment and Thiruselvam Theatres and written and directed by V. Thiruselvam.[9][10][11] The dialogues for the series are written by Sri Vidhya.[12]
Casting
Kannada and Telugu actress Madhumitha Hirannaiah[13] was selected as the female lead but was later replaced by actress Parvathy Venkatiramanan in the second season[14].Tamil film actress Kaniha[15][16] were cast as the main role, who making her come back after 14 years in Tamil television series.[17][18][19][20] Priyadarshini[21] and Haripriya were cast as the parallel leads. Bombay Gnanam, was cast as a supporting role, who making her comeback after 10 years.[22][23]
Film director and actor G. Marimuthu[24][25] was selected as the negative lead till his death on 8 September 2023. He was replaced by writer Vela Ramamoorthy.[26][27] Sabari Prasanth was selected as the male lead. While Keerthana, Kamalesh, Merwen, Goutham K S, Vibhu Raman[28] and Sathyapriya were also selected for supporting roles. In end of December 2023, playback singer T. K. Kala join cast as Janani's grandmother.[29]
The Series initially started to Air on from 7 February 2022 at 9:30 pm. Later On 9 October 2023, it was Shifted to 9:00 pm.[2][30]
Season 2
This Series is initially started to Air on from 23 December 2024 at 9:30 pm.[31]
Reception
Trp Record
In BARC Era, This is the first ever Tamil Television Series to become No.1 at U+R Market in TRP ratings at 9:30 pm slot all over Tamil Nadu.[32][33][34]
Season 1
Critical response
The series gradually gained more popularity and viewership in January 2023 by its screenplay, and mainly for the natural and realistic acting.[32]Ethirneechal gave tough competition for ratings to its same channel's top rated soap Kayal.[35]
Since April 2022, Ethirneechal has been remade in other languages such as in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi. It is broadcast on Sun TV Network's group of channels in the respective languages.
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