The 1977 Tamil film 16 Vayathinile remains a major milestone in the careers of all the lead actors and the filmmaker. One of the rare occasions and the first one that starred two stalwarts of Tamil cinema, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, it also starred Sridevi as a 16-year-old who is the main protagonist of the film that deals with her vulnerabilities and challenges. It was also the directorial debut of acclaimed filmmaker Bharathirajaa.
The movie, right from its pre-production stage was highly hyped as an experimental film that was not expected to do well commercially. However, apart from garnering critical acclaim, it was also a commercial success, running for 175 days in theatres. It became a cult and a landmark in Tamil cinema with even the Malaysian film industry remaking it as Melati Putih.
Sridevi’s character Mayil was the main protagonist of the plot and Bharathirajaa wanted a 16-year-old to play the role as the character was 16 in the film. Sridevi was 14 when she appeared in the film. And that is why she was not the first choice for 16 Vayathunile. Initially, director Bharathirajaa approached actress Nirosha Radha who was 16 years old at that time to portray the character of Mayil.
However, Nirosha Radha had to turn down the film when approached since she was busy with another production. Bharathirajaa then zeroed in on Sridevi, who despite being 14, according to Bharathirajaa had the “dreamy sparkle” that he envisioned the character Mayil with. Nirosha has appeared in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films as well. In the 90s, she became popular with kids with her TV show Chinna Papa Periya Papa.
Coming back to 16 Vayathinile, the movie won several awards including Best Director for Bharathirajaa. The film was also remade in Hindi as Solva Sawan where Sridevi reprised her role from the original.
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