​From Aliya Mansa to Kaniha: Tamil TV shows where middle-aged characters were seen as protagonists​

Tamil TV shows often leave the audience entertained with their unique storylines. Not just the storyline, the makers like to experiment with the main protagonists too. Gone are the days when the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law fights ruled the industry. Lately, Tamil TV has introduced a new trend of showcasing stories of middle-aged women and they have been well accepted by fans. Take a look at some of them…

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A bold and beautiful girl named Iniya, Aliya Maansa played the titular role. She under some circumstances is forced to marry cop Vikram. This serial narrates the problem faced by Iniya in Vikram’s house and how she survives.

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Pandian Stores revolves around the life of Dhanam, a daughter-in-law, who runs a professional store to meet the needs of her family. The emotional drama has Sujitha, Stalin, Kumaran Thangarajan, Venkat Renganathan, Hema, Rajkumar, Saravana Vickram, VJ Deepika, Lakshmanapandian, and Sheela in the lead roles. Sujitha Dhanush is one of the strongest protagonists in Tamil TV.

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Kayal revolves around the life of a hardworking woman who is the only breadearner in her family. She faces many hurdles in her life, like arranging her younger sister's wedding, an uncle who wishes for her downfall, and workplace harassment. The story shows how Kayal bravely faces all the hurdles.

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The unique love story of Meenatch and Saravanan portrays their life and family problems. Bigg Boss Tamil fame Rachitha Mahalakshmi plays the lead in the show.

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Sundari is the story of a girl, who faces discrimination for her dark skin tone, yet she fights against adversities in life. She has a kind heart but struggles to find the right man to marry. Undeterred, she strives to become an IAS officer. Her journey towards achieving her goal takes her through many ups and downs in life, and she firmly believes that inner beauty is more important than physical appearance, which forms the crux of the story. It also deals with the story of a fair-skinned urban girl named Anu, who is modern, empowered, and waiting for a loving and sincere partner. She is hitched to Karthik but he is not a sincere man and exploits her for his desires and fantasies.

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The Tamil remake of the popular Kannada show, 'Baakiyalakshmi' portrays the life of Baakiya. Played by K.S. Suchitra Shetty, Reshma Pasupuleti goes through the hardships of learning about her husband's extramarital affair, divorcing him, and gaining hatred even from her family. However, the character serves as a motivation for independent women as Baakiya becomes a successful entrepreneur.

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Ethirneechal is about Janani, a high achiever and her three sisters - Eshwari, Renuka and Nandhini, who are well-educated, while all of their husbands aren't educated at all. The husbands don't allow their wives to get a job. In fact, they force them to stay at home and be housewives. Janani marries Sakthivel, the youngest brother of the Aadhi family; he is honest and submissive by nature. Janani started raising her voice against the male chauvinism in Gunasekaran's house.

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