Kadamattathu Kathanar (TV series)

Kadamattathu Kathanar is an Indian Malayalam-language supernatural drama television series that originally aired on Asianet from 2004 to 2005. The series was rebroadcast on Asianet Plus beginning in March 2016.^[1] Prakash Paul portrayed the title character.^[2]

Kadamattathu Kathanar, also known as Kadamattathachan ("Father of Kadamattom"), was a legendary 9th-century Oriental Syriac priest of the Kadamattom Church, one of the oldest surviving churches in Kerala associated with the Saint Thomas Christians. He is traditionally believed to have possessed supernatural powers.

Although said to have learned sorcery from a mysterious source, Kathanar was believed to perform most of his feats through divine power, invoking the Holy Spirit through prayer, which made him invulnerable to other sorcerers.

The series portrays his exorcisms of ghosts and evil spirits, including the well-known legend of Kalliyankattu Neeli, a vampiric Yakshi that haunted a Kerala family who sought Kathanar’s help.^[3]

The story centers on the traditional Vamanam Tharavadu family in Kerala, which is terrorized by Neeli, a powerful Yakshi with multiple forms and abilities far exceeding those of ordinary spirits. After several family members are killed and the village is thrown into fear, Kathanar arrives, subdues Neeli, and compels her to recount her past. Moved by her story, he shows compassion and establishes her as a local demi-goddess, granting her an opportunity for earthly redemption.

Chadayan, a student and adopted son of Lada Guru turns evil under the influence of the sorceress Durgamma. He gains power by murdering his guru, imprisoning his son Nathan, and seizing a collection of 13 ancient grimoires traditionally guarded by their family. These texts are said to promise godlike powers through ritual sacrifices.

Kathanar ultimately defeats Chadayan in a prolonged battle, leaving him blinded as his castle collapses around him. Chadayan’s patron demigod later reappears and restores his sight.

The historic Kumkumathu Kovilakam is haunted by a murderous evil spirit which plays upon the deep desires and fears of the members. Kathanar arrived and exorcises the ghost.

The narrative introduces Bhanu, a courtesan and wealthy mistress of Ettukettu, who challenges suitors to defeat her in a game of dice, known as pakida, as a condition for winning her favor. Using a pair of enchanted dice that obey her will even after being cast, she ensnares many men into servitude through her beauty and deception. Kathanar eventually arrives and defeats Bhanu, breaking her hold over the victims.

Potti visits Kathanar and asks him to come to his home after few days. He took Bhanu to his own home and asked her to live harmony with his other three wives. He also assured her that he will destroy kathanar.Potti send a demon girl and male ghost in kadamattom but both were destroyed by kathanar.Kathanar went to Pottis house as guest and Potti try to insult him in many ways, but he teach potti a lesson. Potti and Bhanu seeks forgiveness from Kathanar. Kathanar counsels both Potti and Bhanu, and he left from there.

Passengers has been attacked and killed by Odiyan in Kuravanmedu village.Odiyan is a spirit who can transform in to bull.Kathanar subdues the Odiyan who had been terrorising the village of Kuravanmedu.

After subduing the Odiyan, the Vadakkan Veedu family members faced new problems. Untimely deaths of their young children started taking place after an evil entity was freed from its confinement. Kathanar sensed this but was unable to help them as the family did not allow people from other castes to enter their home. After a lot of persuasion, the head of the family reluctantly allowed Kathanar to check into the problems.

Upon investigation, Kathanar found out that the entity was of the spirit of Thirumala, the adopted daughter of the previous head of Vadakkan Veedu. Kunjikelu Melan, who was jealous of her and releasing that she would be the sole heir of the property, had her killed along with her father and a snake charmer. Thirumala became a Yakshi and killed Kunjikelu Melan and his associates but created havoc in the village. To subdue her, the head sorcerer of Killimangalam Mana was called for and was successful in taming her. Unfortunately, before being subdued, Thirumala cursed Killimangalam family of their untimely deaths too. Due to this, none of the Killimangalam Mana members were ready to help Vadakkan Veedu family of their problems.

Though empathetic, Kathanar warned Thirumala to not trouble Vadakkan Veedu members again. In an intense battle, Kathanar finally subdues Thirumala and makes her a protectress of young children. Vadakkan Veedu is finally freed of its curses and the head tearfully thanks Kathanar for his help, asking him to visit his home whenever Kathanar passed by.

The story revolves around Chambakkara village which is a seashore village where majority are working as fishermen and some are owners whose under this fishermen work.Kathanar becomes villagers favorite after he changed bad behaviours of some people in the villages.Meanwhile, a female ghost Wandering at the village in night killing multiple people.A group of fishermen were attacked by a ghost of a Persian couple.Kathanar finally save the villagers by destroying female ghost as well as the ghost of Persion couple.

Mariyamma worries about the gold stolen which she kept for her daughter Kochuthresia's marriage.kathanar visits recover the gold from Luka.Mariyamma and kochuthresia try to commit suicide but they were stopped by a boy who later reveal to be Jesus christ.Mariyamma seek forgiveness from god and kathanar returned her gold.Kochuthresia and Agasthya engaged and later kathanar teaches agasthya's arrogant father chacko a lesson and he apologised to kathanar.

Nicholas buys a mansion which is haunted.His son Alan was killed by a spirit from a doll.The family moved to mansion where supernatural events started happening.Kathanar finally learnt that the main spirit is the family servant Ettichan.He destroyed all the spirits including Ettichan.Kathanar inform the family that the property is earlier an cremation ground and mansion was built on it.kathanar left from the mansion and all the spirits move to the sky to attain peace.Alan's spirit felt sad to see the happy reunion of the family since he cannot join them forever.

Eli Chettathy and her three daughters moved to the Eethenga Tharavadu where the ghosts started attacking the family members.kathanar arrives and destroys the ghosts Nani and Manikyan.The family members thanked kathanar and all the problems in Eethenga Tharavadu came to end.

Chadayan returns and team up with Vettiyala Vezhala and his assistant Mandhana to destroy Kathanar.They release Neeli's good power and made her evil again.Together they murder some villagers along with some family member of vaamanam tharavadu.Kathanar finally destroyed them and given good powers to Neeli and warn her to be careful.

Lord Surya Varma, the young heir of the Thripangottu Kovilakkam, is missing. Worried, his family calls for a magician, who is a fraudster in guise, to resolve their problems. But the magician invites more trouble, leading to the haunting of an evil entity who had a past with the family's ancestor decades ago. So the family calls for Kathannar to rid off their issues and rescue back their son.

With the help of Kalidasan, another famed sorcerer and priest, Kathannar tries to find the source of the problems and discovers that the family's curse begins with their ancestor Lord Udaya Varma. Udaya Varma lusted for a commoner girl Kalyani by feigning love. Their relationship gets cozy and Kalyani ends up pregnant. Eventually, she is flatly rejected by Udaya Varma but vows revenge. An enraged Udaya Varma kills Kalyani and her father. Kalyani returns as an evil spirit and kills Udaya Varma but is subdued by a powerful sorcerer. She is released by another demonic entity, who had actually kidnapped the prince Surya Varma during his religious expedition

The entity along with Kalyani's spirit decide to kill Surya Varma and absorb his soul and Kalyani's to become more powerful. Kathannar and Kalidasan locate the demon's hideout and rescue Surya Varma. They devise a plan to capture the two evil spirits and successfully subdue them. The demon entity is exorcized, while the spirit of Kalyani is subdued and blessed as a goddess among the serpents at the Sarpakavu.

The prince is rescued and reunited with his family by both sorcerers. Kalidasan expresses his gratitude to Kathannar and bids a teary farewell and then Kathannar embarks on his next mission.

Jagathan Thambi and his family, which consists of his wife Satyabhama, sisters Unnimaya & Parvati and his grandmother, move to their ancestral home Chandanamangalathu Tharavadu which is famed for its dark past. The family settle in and begin cleaning up the home that had been desolate for decades. Thambi hires a group of men to repair and rearrange the house and its surroundings. During their work, the men unearth a sealed brass pot and accidentally release an evil spirit. Here begins trouble for the family at Chandanamangalathu Tharavadu.

The spirit is of Gauri, a maidservant's daughter who was in love with the young male heir of the house's previous occupants decades ago. After being mercilessly killed by the family, she returned as a vengeful spirit and tormented the family and village but was subdued and exorcised by a powerful sorcerer in a brass pot. After being released in the present time, she kills and possesses Unnimaya and subsequently kills the worker men. Gauri starts causing supernatural attacks to the family members with the intent of killing them.

Devastated, the family calls for Kathannar, who successfully subdues and destroys the evil spirit in an intense supernatural battle. With this, Kathannar assures the family that Jagathan Thambi and Satyabhama would be soon blessed with a child.

In August 2004, the Akhila Malankara Orthodox Almaya Vedi (AMOAV), an organisation representing lay members of the Malankara Orthodox Church, raised objections against the serial based on Kadamattathu Kathanar telecast on Asianet Television. The AMOAV alleged that the script distorted the history, tradition, and culture of the Malankara Christian community. At a press conference held in Pathanamthitta, the organisation's president Shibu K. Abraham and general secretary Preeth G. George demanded an immediate halt to the telecast, stating that it hurt the religious sentiments of the Orthodox Christian community.^[5]

Two sequels to the series were aired, titled Kathanar Kadamattathu Kathanar (2008) on Jaihind TV and Kadamattathachan (2010) on Surya TV.^[6] Actor Prakash Paul revealed that the 2008 version of the series, aired on Jaihind TV, led to severe financial losses. The channel had low viewership at the time, and many were unaware of its existence. Although payments were initially prompt, the channel eventually ran out of funds, forcing Paul to continue production without further financial support. He described this decision as a major setback and a source of lasting debt.^[7]

In June 2024, actor Prakash Paul confirmed that a new sequel to the original series is in development. The upcoming project will not be a remake but will feature an aged version of Kadamattathu Kathanar returning to the present era. Paul stated that the continued popularity of the original series, especially through annual re-telecasts on Asianet Plus, inspired the idea for the new version.^[8]

• Official Website Archived 15 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine