Mahanadhi (TV series)

Mahanadhi
Also known asMahanadhi - Sagodharigalin kadhai
மகாநதி, மஹாநதி
GenreDrama
Written byPriya Thambi
Directed byPraveen Bennett
Starring
  • Lakshmi Priya
  • Swaminathan Anantharaman
Opening themeSonthamulla Vaazhkai Sorgathukku Mela
Country of originIndia
Original languageTamil
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes800+
Production
Executive producersJohn, Anthony
Production locationTamil Nadu
Camera setupMulti-Camera
Running timeapprox. 22–24 minutes per episode
Production companyGlobal Villagers
Original release
NetworkStar Vijay
Release23 January 2023 (2023-01-23) –
present

Mahanadhi – Sagotharigalin Kadhai (transl. The Great River – The Story of Sisters) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language drama television series that premiered on Star Vijay on 23 January 2023.[1][2] It is produced by Praveen Bennett under the banner of Global Villagers. It is also available on the digital platform JioHotstar.[3][4]

The series was launched along with Siragadikka Aasai.[5][6]

Plot

The story begins with the happy lives of four sisters— Ganga, Kaveri, Yamuna, and Narmadha —and their parents, Santhanam and Saradha with their paternal grandmother, Annakili. Their world is shattered when their father, Santhanam died of heart attack upon finding out that his best friend and close confidant, Pasupathy, had cheated him of his wealth and property. Following his death, the family is continued to be betrayed by Pasupathy, till the second daughter, Kaveri, finds out the conspiracy and they almost lost their ancestral property. Amidst this tragedy, a complex web of love emerges: Nivin, Pasupathy's nephew and Kaveri are deeply in love, while Kumaran, Santhanam's nephew, a tailor harbours a silent, steadfast love for the eldest sister, Ganga. However it was not reciprocated by Ganga. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Nivin ends up getting engaged to Pasupathy's daughter, Ragini and broke Kaveri's heart. At the same time, Ganga agreed to marry Kumaran. However, due to family pressures and financial ruin, the sisters are forced to navigate a world that is suddenly hostile.

After much struggle, Kaveri successfully managed to claim a small portion of money that was swindled from her father by Pasupathy. The entire family including the four sisters, their mother, Kumaran and Annakili Patti, relocate to Chennai for urgent medical treatment of the youngest Nadhi sister. The struggle for survival in Chennai leads Kaveri to a life-altering decision. To save her family from financial collapse and secure medical treatment for Narmadha, Kaveri enters into a contract marriage with Vijay, a wealthy but jaded man. This sacrifice comes at a heavy cost, one year of her life in exchange for money.

In the meantime, Nivin, her ex called off the wedding and came to Chennai. He soon found out that Kaveri had married and moved on. Devastated upon hearing the news, he eventually decided to distance himself but Vijay, filled with guilt for the contract marriage, let him in on the secret and request for him to wait for Kaveri (a decision he later regretted as he fell in love with his wife).

The story proceeds to show on how each sister navigate their life and overcome hurdles and tragedies.

Kaveri's story is of her life with Vijay, which started them out as pseudo-enemies who hated each other to eventually end up falling in love.

While Ganga's story is of her life with Kumaran and their tailoring business.

Yamuna navigates her studies but eventually end up falling in love with Nivin, who in hopes of trying to win back Kaveri attempted to help Yamuna. But he ended up in a forced marriage with Yamuna when she became obsessed with him.

The rest of the story is about how the Nadhi sisters overcome everyday life hurdles involving ex lovers, fake families and threats from the ever sinister Pasupathy.


Meanwhile, both Ganga and Kaveri became pregnant at the same time. Tragedy strikes again when a massive accident occurs; Kaveri suffers severe memory loss and is separated from Vijay and her new born baby. Believing Kaveri to be dead, a devastated Vijay moved from Chennai to Kanchipuram, named his newborn daughter Kaveri Jr. in honor of his wife, while the rest of the Kaveri's family is forced out of the house by Vijay’s scheming relatives.

5 Years Later

Ganga and Kumaran have returned to Kodaikanal, where Kumaran runs a successful tailoring business, and they raise their daughter, Yazhini. In Chennai, Nivin and Yamuna have started their life after years, with Yamuna serving as an IAS Collector.

The heart of the current drama lies in the fact that Kaveri is alive but living under the care of her mother Saradha, still suffering from amnesia and unaware of her past while Vijay is living with their daughter unaware that his wife is alive.

Cast

Main

  • Lakshmi Priya as Kaveri: Vijay's estranged wife, Kaveri Jr.'s estranged mother, the second daughter of Mahanadhi family.
  • Swaminathan Anantharaman as Vijay: Kaveri's estranged husband, Kaveri Jr.'s father, a young CEO, the second son-in-law of Mahanadhi family
  • Baby Harshita as Kaveri Jr. alias Ammu: Kaveri and Vijay's daughter

Recurring

  • Prathiba (2023) / Divya Ganesh (Nov.2023–2024) /Dharani Hephzibah (Aug.2024–present) as Ganga: Kumaran's wife, Yazhini’s mother and the eldest daughter of Mahanadhi family
  • Sujatha Sivakumar as Saradha, Santhanam's wife, Mother of Mahanadhi Sisters.
  • K.Kamrudin as Kumaran: Ganga's husband, Yazhini 's father, the eldest son in law of mahanadhi family, Santhanam's nephew (2023 - Oct 2025)
  • Rudran Praveen as Nivin: Yamuna's husband and Pasupathy's nephew, Kaveri's ex-lover, Ragini's ex-fiancée, third son in law of Mahanadhi family
  • Aadhirai Soundarajan (2023–2025) / Swetha Kumar (Jul.2025–present) as Yamuna: the third oldest sister of Mahanadhi family and Nivin's wife, Raghav's ex-lover
  • Kaavya as Narmadha: the youngest sister of Mahanadhi family
  • Baby Safa as Yazhini: Ganga and Kumaran's daughter
  • Pankajam as Annakkili Paatti - Santhanam and Shanthi's mother, Saradha's Mother-in-law, Grandmother of Mahanadi Sisters, Kumaran's Ammachi
  • Manikandan Raj as Somasundaram "Somu" - Kalyani's husband, Radha's father, Vijay, Ajay and Kavya's grandfather.
  • Kallu as Kalyani Somasundaram: Somasundaram's wife, Radha's mother, Vijay, Ajay and Kavya's grandmother. (dead)
  • Bharathi Mohan as Anbarasu - Vijay's Uncle, Radha's husband. Ajay and Kavya's father. Raagini's father-in-law
  • Padmini Chandrasekhar as Radha - Vijay's aunt. Ajay and Kavya's mother. Raagini's mother-in-law.
  • Ramesh as Pasupathy - Santhanama's betrayal friend Father of Ragini and Raghav.
  • Shathiga as Ragini - Pasupathy's daughter, Ajay's wife
  • Sanjay Mohan (2023-2024) / Karthikeyan (2025–present) as Raghav - Raagini's brother, Pasupathy's son, Yamuna's ex-lover

Other

  • Saravanan as Santhanam, Sarada's husband, father of Mahanadi sisters (2023) (Dead)
  • Kanmani Manoharan (2024) / Vaishali Thaniga (Nov.2024–2025) as Vennila - Vijay's ex-lover
  • KB Bala Balasubramaniam as Nambirajan, Vennila's uncle (2025)
  • Kavitha Solairaja as Pankajam, house owner's wife
  • Vaishu Jayachandhiran as Kavya - Anbarasu and Radha's daughter, Vijay's cousin sister, Ajay's sister. (2024)
  • Vishwa Mithran as Salim, Kumaran's friend. (2023)
  • Shruti Shanmuga Priya as Vijay's mother (2025) (Dead)
  • Milla as fashion show judge (2024)
  • Senthi Kumari as Muthu Malar, a lady who fakely introduced her as Santhanam’s wife (2025-2026)
  • Aravindh as Krishna, Muthu Malar's son (2025-2026)
  • Abinaya as Sindhu, Muthu Malar's daughter (2025-2026)
  • Baskar Natarajan as Ajay - Anbarasu's and Radha son, Vijay's cousin brother, Kavya's brother, Ragini's Husband (2023-2025)
  • Sumi Santhosh as Jaya, Nivin's mother, Pasupathi sister (2023-2025)
  • Santhi as Santhi, Kumaran’s Mother (2023-2025)
  • Mahalakshmi S as Mary, Kumaran’s sister (2023-2025)

Production

Development

The shooting of the serial commenced in December 2022. The first promo was released on 7 January 2023.[7] The series was also promoted in the Bigg Boss 6 house on 16 January.[8]

Casting

Lakshmi Priya cast as the main female lead as Kaveri. Prathiba and Aadhirai were cast in parallel leads as Ganga and Yamuna. On 23 November 2023, Prathiba opted out from the show due to her upcoming movie offers[9] and was replaced by Divya Ganesh,[10] However she left the series in August 2024 to gets hospitalized due to Dengue.[11] She was replaced by newcomer actress Dharani Hephzibah.[12] In late June 2025, Aadhirai left the series due to participation in Bigg Boss Season 9 Tamil Edison,[13] so she was replaced by newcomer actress Swetha Kumar.[14] New comer actors Kamuruddin and Rudran Praveen portrayed parallel male leads as Kumaran and Nivin respectively, but in October 2025, Kamuruddin quit the series to participate in Bigg Boss Season 9. Saravanan and Sujatha Sivakumar were also selected for supporting roles.[15][16]

On 27 September 2023, Swaminathan Anantharaman was introduced as the male lead, Vijay, for a new storyline with Kaveri.[17] In mid 2024, Kanmani Manoharan was cast as the pivotal role as Vennila (Vijay's ex-lover).[18] But later in November 2024, she was to quit the series because of her pregnancy so Vaishali Thaniga was then replaced her as Vennila. But in July 2025, she also left the series due to her pregnancy so her character Vennila was ended with a positive note.[19]

In early 2025 Kavitha Solairaja was cast to play an extended special appearance.[20]

Crossovers

Following a promo released on 2 February, it was teased that there would be a crossover between Mahanadhi and Aaha Kalyanam.[21] This was then confirmed with a promo released by Star Vijay, with both families staying at the same resort to compete for 5 lakhs.[22]

Adaptations

Language Title First aired Channel Last aired Notes Ref.
Tamil Mahanadhi
மஹாநதி		 23 January 2023 Star Vijay Ongoing Original
Kannada Vasudeva Kutumba
ವಸುದೇವ ಕುಟುಂಬ		 15 September 2025 Star Suvarna Remake [23]
Malayalam Ee Puzhayum Kadannu
ഈ പുഴയും കടന്ന്		 2 February 2026 Asianet [24]

References

  1. ^ "New TV serial 'Mahanathi' set to be launched soon". The Times of India. 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Mahanathi Serial Vijay TV Launching Soon". www.indiantvinfo.com. 8 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Star Vijay to launch fiction shows 'Siragadikka Aasai' and 'Mahanathi' on 23rd January". www.medianews4u.com. 20 January 2023. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Vijay TV Serials Latest Serial 'Siragadikka Aasai'". www.indiantvinfo.com. 20 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  5. ^ "STAR VIJAY launches Siragadikka Aasai and Mahanathi new serials from Monday 23 Jan 2023". chennaivision.com. 21 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Star Vijay to launch fiction shows 'Siragadikka Aasai' and 'Mahanathi' on 23rd January". www.medianews4u.com. 20 January 2023. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ^ Promo. தந்தையை இழந்தது இவர்களின் விதி.. கரை சேருமா இந்த நதி..! | Lakshmi Priya | Star Vijay. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  8. ^ "பிக்பாஸில் லாஞ்ச் ஆன புதிய சீரியல் ப்ரோமோ.. கண்ணீர்விட்டு அழுத ஜிபி முத்து.!". tamil.behindwoods.com. 17 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Actress Prathibha announces her exit from the TV show 'Mahanadi'". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 23 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Actress Divya Ganesan joins the cast of 'Mahanadi'". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 23 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Mahanathi actress Divya Ganesh gets hospitalized due to Dengue". The Times of India. 6 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Anchor Dharani Hephzibah joins the cast of Mahanadhi". The Times of India. 8 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Actress Aadhirai Soundarajan quits Tamil daily soap 'Mahanadhi'". The Times of India. 1 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Actress Swethakumar joins the cast of 'Mahanadhi'". The Times of India. 3 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Mahanathi TV Serial Cast Names". indiantalents.in. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  16. ^ "முழு நேர தொடருக்கு வந்த விஜய் பட அம்மா". www.dinamani.com. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Television actor Swaminathan joins the cast of 'Mahanathi'". The Times of India. 22 September 2023. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Kanmani Manoharan joins the cast of TV show 'Mahanathi'". The Times of India. 11 July 2024.
  19. ^ "கர்ப்பம் குறித்து சந்தோஷமாக அறிவித்த விஜய் டிவி சீரியல் நடிகை... இனி சீரியலில் தொடர்வாரா?". 8 May 2025.
  20. ^ "Actress Kavitha Solairaja joins the cast of Mahanadhi". The Times of India. 17 February 2025.
  21. ^ Mahanadhi | 2nd February 2024 - Promo, 2 February 2024, retrieved 3 February 2024
  22. ^ Mahanadhi & Aaha Kalyanam | Mahasangamam | 5th to 9th February 2024 - Promo, 3 February 2024, retrieved 5 February 2024
  23. ^ "ಕನ್ನಡದ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ನಟ ಅವಿನಾಶ್ ವಾಪಸ್ಸು; ವಾಸುದೇವ ಕುಟುಂಬ ಧಾರಾವಾಹಿ ಮೂಲಕ…". News18 Kannada (in Kannada). 15 September 2025.
  24. ^ "'சிறகடிக்க ஆசை' கோமதிப்பிரியா மகாநதி மலையாள ரீமேக்கில் ஹீரோயினாக". Asianet News Tamil (in Tamil). 6 August 2025.
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