Uppum Mulakum chronicles the daily lives of Balachandran Thampi, his wife Neelima, and their five children.
The principal cast members include Biju Sopanam, Nisha Sarangh, Rishi S Kumar, Juhi Rustagi, Al Sabith, Shivani Menon and Baby Ameya.
Parvathy Ayyappadas became part of the main cast in February 2023, portraying the role of Vishnu's wife, Diya, and was written off after season 2.
[3] Uppum Mulakum, a highly acclaimed Malayalam sitcom, has consistently garnered popularity throughout its long run.
Lechu's portrayal in the show ended in season 1 during episode 1013, due to actress Juhi Rustagi's departure.
Rema's husband Jayanthan, her father Shankaran Thambi (Balu's relative), Neelu's parents Kuttan Pillai and Bhavani Amma, also make appearances.
The neighborhood comes alive with characters like Bhasi, Nawas, Shukoor, the newspaper boy Kannan, auto-rickshaw driver Chandran, and his wife Kanakam (a sister like figure for balu who he meets when he came to Madurai ).
Some episodes even venture outside the Paramada household, taking place at the Shoolamkudi house in Neyyattinkara (Thiruvananthapuram) and Padavalam Veedu in Piravom (Ernakulam).
These location shifts provide a lighthearted commentary on the cultural distinctions between Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, a common theme in friendly disputes between Balu and Neelu.
The introduction of auto-rickshaw driver Chandran in episode 368 marked the beginning of a close friendship with the Paramada family.
Their story is a mix of comedy and life lessons, showing how love and family do people change in Uppum Mulakum.
That’s probably why people call him “Kelavan Keshu.” Keshu dreams of future at his mother’s ancestral home, Padavalam veedu, doing farming, and leading a simple life.
Merlin’s honesty and possessiveness make it difficult for Keshu to stay in touch with his childhood crush, Aleena Francis, whose family had moved from Kochi to settle in Bangalore.
In Season 3, Aleena’s entry into the story was surprising, especially when she arrived at Keshu’s house with her cousin Merlin, unaware of their relationship.
Theatre actor Biju Sopanam had earlier acted under R. Unnikrishnan's directorial in Back Benchers, a comedy serial on Amrita TV.
Biju was keen on working with Unnikrishnan ever since he watched his directorial sitcom Marimayam on Mazhavil Manorama, he wanted to do such roles that are close to reality.
[14] Unnikrishnan called Rishi S. Kumar for the role of Vishnu after seeing him in the reality TV show D 4 Dance on Mazhavil Manorama, in which he was a contestant.
Uppum Mulakum's rating began to drop slightly when Juhi Rustagi left the show in January 2020.
[19] When the show started back its production after several months of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, a new character called Pooja Jayaram was introduced.
[21] Flowers TV managing director Sreekandan Nair later announced that the show would undergo a hiatus for an extended period of time.
This was termed the dark phase of Uppum Mulakum with even the main characters seemed uninterested in the proceedings and with child actors going overboard.
Rishi gave an interview in which he revealed the truth about his absence, majorly because of its director R. Unnikrishnan's dictator like methods.
[29] The third season of the show premiered on 24 June 2024, All main characters except Rishi S Kumar and Parvathy Ayyapadas returned to their roles.
[34] Indian Express said: "Uppum Mulakum presents the simple things in daily life without losing its originality.
Behind the show's popularity is that the audience can feel that the house and its family members may have been living somewhere else in the real life".
[35] In July 2018, Main Actress raised allegations of harassment against the serial director in season 1, after which the Kerala Women's Commission registered a case against him.
[42] In February 2020, the main cast actors had some issues in the set against the scriptwriter due to which they all walked away, much to the disappointment of the fans.
Thrikkakara Police handed over the case to special investigation team (SIT) which has been formed after Hema committee reports.
[44][45] Flowers TV subsequently started a behind-the-scenes programme of Uppum Mulakum named Uppile Mulaku, which was hosted by Nandini Nair.
In October 2021, Zee Keralam started developing a new spiritual reboot of the sitcom, with the idea of reimagining the original series.