Meenakshi Ponnunga ( Meenakshi's daughters) is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language television drama airing on Zee Tamil and streams on digital platform ZEE5. The series premiered on 1 August 2022, it stars Sriranjani with Soundarya Reddy and Aryan in the lead roles. It is an official remake of Zee Telugu series Radhamma Kuthuru.
Plot
Meenakshi gives birth to three daughters Yamuna, Shakthi and Durga. Meenakshi's husband, who desperately wanted a son, ran away and married Pushpa. So Meenakshi runs a mess named "Meenakshi Mess" with the help of her daughters which was a famous mess in that village. Shakthi vows to become an IAS officer to avenge her father. Meanwhile, Vetri, the son of Ranganayagi, falls in love with Shakthi.
Cast
Main
Mokshitha Pai (2022) / Soundarya Reddy (2022–present) as Shakthi – Meenakshi and Needhimani's second daughter; Yamuna's younger sister; Durga's elder sister; Vetri's love interest and wife; Ranganayagi's daughter-in-law Archana (2022–2023) / Sriranjani (2023–present) as Meenakshi – Needhimani's first wife; Yamuna, Shakthi and Durga's mother; Karthik and Vetri's mother-in-law Aryan as Vetri – Ranganayaki's son; Saranya's brother; Pooja's ex-fiancé; Shakthi's husband
Recurring
Gayathri Yuvraaj / Kavya Bellu as Yamuna – Meenakshi and Needhimani's first daughter; Shakthi and Durga's elder sister; Karthik's love interest and wife Pranika Dhakshu as Durga – Meenakshi and Needhimani's last daughter; Shakthi and Yamuna's younger sister Sasilaya as Ranganayagi – Vetri and Saranya's mother; Shakthi and Ashok's mother-in-law Anandmouli as Singaraja - Ranganayagi's husband Subathira as Pushpa − Needhimani's second wife; Shanmugam's mother (Main Antagonist) Ram Sundar as Sangili - Pushpa's brother, who wants to marry one of Meenakshi's daughters, with the intention of making their life hell. Prabhakaran as Needhimani – Meenakshi and Pushpa's husband; Yamuna, Shakthi, Durga and Shanmugam's father; Karthik and Vetri's father-in-law Suganya as Saranya – Ranganayagi's daughter; Vetri's sister; Ashok's wife Hema Dayal as Pooja – Vetri's ex-fiancée Sudharsanam / Vishnukanth as Karthik – Kokila's son; Yamuna's husband Aarthi Ramkumar as Kokila – Karthik's mother Singaraja as Kokila's husband and Karthik's father Deepa Shankar as Shantha – Meenakshi's friend and maid Vigneshwaran as Ashok – Saranya's husband Thidiyan as Thidiyan – Vetri's friend Tom Frank as Giri -Vetri's friend Sanjay as Shanmugam – Needhimani and Pushpa's son Siddharth Kapilavayi as Rohit – Pooja's ex-fianceè
Soundtrack
All the title tracks of the series was composed by Radhan. The song Kannala Thaakura was sung by Sarath Santhosh and lyrics by Ku. Karthik.
Production
Development
After the ending of the longest running Zee Tamil TV drama Sembaruthi, its Production Company Insidues Media decide to produce Meenakshi Ponnunga. The series was directed by Neethane Enthan Ponvasantham fame L. Muthukumaraswamy.
Casting
Actress Archana was signed to portray the title role of Meenakshi in her first television debut. She quit the serial in April 2023 due to being unsatisfied with the storyline and in June 2023, she was replaced by Sriranjani. Mokshitha Pai was initially selected to play the role Shakthi, by marking her debut in Tamil television but later was replaced by Soundarya Reddy in November 2022 who also made her debut in Tamil television as Mokshitha Pai quit the serial. Aryan was selected to play the character Vetri, whilst Tamil motivational speaker Sasilaya was chosen to play the role of Renganayagi, Vetri's mother.
Actress Gayathri Yuvaraj was initially played the role as Yamuna. Later due to her pregnancy situations she need to stay in home, so she quit the series in September 2023, she was replaced by Kavya Bellu.
Promotion
Zee Tamil was promoted their new three fictions Maari, Amudhavum Annalakshmiyum and including this series by making advertisement with actress Sneha, Saranya Ponvannan and Sangeetha with the slogan "Vanga Paarkalaam Ithu Namma Time" and this promo released on 26 June 2022.