Metti Oli Character guide - Page 7

Some bonuses tonight. Most of these were sent to me via pm or Yahoo mail, so do not copy to elsewhere without checking with me.

Bonus 1:

Nirmala:

Nirmala is the only daughter of Rajam, and everyone is grateful that she has so sisters. She is among the very few in the serial who can stand up to the ways of Rajam, but despite her education she chooses not to. She in fact inherits several villi characteristics from her mother. She was in love with Ramesh and was snubbed by him for that, with a public humiliation that came with it. Subsequently, due to Gopi's mistake that Viji was Manickam's sister, she was to be married off to Gopi and was happy about it, until Gopi realized his mistake and fixed the mix. A spiteful person, she tried to seed disenchantment in the lives of Gopi and Viji for that with her conniving ways. She married Santhosh and was happy with him initially and has a daughter to prove it. The high point in her portrayal was when she decided, upon hearing about Santhosh's marriage to another woman, that she will not let him back in her life again. She did seem strong and unlike most girls in MO, with an inclination to stand on her own legs. Saro's assistance to her at the time of her pregnancy and delivery made her briefly to recognize Saro's true character, but since that didn't help the serial much, she had to change once again. In a recent episode, she tells Saro that the latter's life is a 'pitchai' from her, which is not very far from the truth. She is loved deeply by her brother Manickam and tolerated by Rajam and Selvam, and is immensely lazy – even when Rajam was indisposed, she could not perform her household chores; also, a stray dog licks the plates of her daughter due to her negligence.

Nirmala is educated and has worked in the past, and holds the potential to turn things around for herself, Manickam, Saro and Selvam. She has the will to support herself on her own – as seen from her ashram days – and knows the true colors of Rajam (remember when she warns her then friend Anni) and can easily be the dark horse in the show.

Bonus 2:

Jayamani

Jayamani is a down to earth character in the serial, a simple man who loved his wife and supports his family in every situation. He is righteous, despite getting into trouble with his only son for that. One of his initial scenes was observing silence (mouna viratham) for the sake of his son. It must be mentioned that at this point too his son was a nut – having led his wife to commit suicide and yet buying stuff for his future wife to use. It was sad to see him sleep outside C's house, after being chased out of the house by his son. Yet when Leela wanted to go back, he supported her decision and went along with her, possibly to be of assistance and aaruthal to her. He is a good grand parent too, remembering their wellness visits and taking them to the doctor. We have seen him challenge Rajam on the phone when his son and dil were insulted and assist Ravi at the shop (which does not merit many skills, anyway). His character, to be summed up in a few words, is respect for others.

Bonus 3:

Shakthi

Her nostrils flare in the air, and her handbag accompanies her everywhere. And when the lighting is from down below, she scares us. She seems to be destined for Selvam, although several viewers have expressed their views against it. Born to a swindler, she cowers in the enforced asylum, though her biggest challenge seems to be acting. She has admitted her feelings for Selvam but appears to be troubled by the tyrant nature of Rajam. Time will tell what Thiru has in mind for this puliodarai peddler.

Bonus 4:

Vasu

Vasu is Shakthi's sibling, and as mentioned earlier, has turned from P.S. Veerappa to P.U. Chinnappa in recent times. A recent episode made him out to be a liar and eavesdropper, but nevertheless he comes across as a decent guy, frustrated largely by the irresponsible ways of his Daddy Dev. He is employed, showing characteristics of responsibility, and is easily tamed by her mom, a sign of being a good son (according to this serial). May be he will marry Arundhadhi, unless destiny forces the hand of Nirmala on him. It would add an interesting twist to this serial if Rajam thinks of this when Selvam is sought for Shakthi.

good effort - hope one day someone will do a profile for Pazhani - he did play a major role. I really like the nosy neighbour of Ravi - she chips in at regular intervals in spite of Ravi's harsh retorts!!

I got a few PMs and emails with character sketches. I will post them soon.

Balu Sir:

Balu Sir has a permanent smile on his face, or what remains to be seen apart from his moustache. If there is one thing that he has in common with Chidambaram, Jeyamani and Kathiresan, it is his propensity to wear a vetti at all times. A rich man, he measures up as a man with the required morals for his serials, especially when after he tricks his daughter into a marriage he shows no remorse for it. He also helps in boosting the mahatma image of Selvam by refusing to take in his daughter in distress. He has pleasing manners and polite speech, which makes him look appear less demonic than he actually is. On a scale of 1 to 10 in acting, he does not bother us much.

Palani:

Palani is among the four in this serial to be named after a place – the other being Chidambaram, Bhavani and Gopi. This can be the only way that his name be teamed with those, for he is corrupt to the core. He crosses, double crosses and if there were a word, would triple-cross too. He works for Sundaram maama but readily spies for Sivasami and Manickam if the price was right. Nothing much is known about his family though there were a few remarks about how he grew up in Rajam's house. We suspect that he deeply resents the success of Manickam.

Santhosh sent money to Nirmala from the U.S., and she decided to give it to Palani for kathu vaddi. It must be mentioned that Nirmala took this recourse when Manickam was in desperate need for money to start his lorry business, and she feared that Santhosh would grumble if his money were used for this. When Santhosh returned earlier than expected, Palani refused to cough up the money, probably rightly since it was in rotation, and with the gentle intervention of Selvam arranged to pay back part of it. And that's the last we have seen of him.

Palani is of opportunistic nature but is not conniving enough to succeed. Some might say he is not ambitious enough, but that would probably be his mom.

Nosy neighbour:

Nosy neighbour of Leela might remind us someone we know very well. She means well, but can't help straying into the lives of people around her and takes exception when people guard their privacy. We saw her kindufying the mouth of a couple of girls earlier oblivious to their blatant reluctance, before moving on to Ravi. But she also knows when to stop; when Ravi gets excited talking about Leela's return, she backs off and walks away, a rare gift for such people. Despite her inquisitiveness, she stands out as a helpful person ready to aid the needy. She reads the needs of people around her, and we secretly hope that she realizes what Jayamani longs for and will marry him one day. Imagine Ravi suffering maatran thai kodumai at this age!

Raji Chellam, if you didn't realize earlier, is a looker and it no wonder that she has Kumar wrapped up around her little finger. She is much better than Viji in several ways, which in any case it is not a difficult task. She is respectful of her father-in-law most of the times and goes to work, unlike Viji. She stands up for her rights without insulting anyone, and is never shown to cry. (BTW, have you ever wondered where the stove is in this household?). Not much is known about her parents except for a passing reference that she had no one to take care of her when she delivered Hari. There are several jovial references to how Kumar takes good care of her including cooking, but we observe her several times doing household chores. Yes, she is spiteful and indulges in plotting against Viji, but in that she has only embraced the spirit of her husband and his immediate family. Thiru probably missed an opportunity in using this talented actress to provide the comic relief - she could've been addicted to food, or have a tendency to vazhinjufy with men (like Santhosh) or at least a nagai paithiyam. Her portrayl wouldn't be complete without a reference to her ubiquitous big pottu.