16 Vayathinile

16 Vayathinile
Directed by	P. Bharathiraja
Produced by	S. A. Rajkannu
Written by	P. Bharathiraja P. Kalaimani (dialogues)
Starring	Kamal Haasan Rajinikanth Sridevi Kanthimathi Goundamani
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Cinematography	P. S. Nivas
Editing by	R. Bhaskaran
Studio	Sri Amman Creations
Distributed by	Sri Amman Creations
Release dates	15 September 1977
Running time	139 mins
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	4.5 lakh[1] – 5 lakh

16 Vayathinile (English: At the Age of Sixteen) is a 1977 Tamil feature film directed by Bharathiraja. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Sridevi.^[2] The film also marks the debut of famous South Indian comedian Goundamani. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja and cinematography was by P. S. Nivas. The film focussed on rural Tamil Nadu ^[3] and was the first Tamil film to be shot completely outdoors.^[4] It began the trend of outdoor shooting in Tamil film industry.

16 Vayathinile was Bharathiraja's directorial debut, it met with a strong critical reception upon release, was a blockbuster and completed a 175-day run at the box office.^[5] The film won four State Awards and one each in the South Filmfare Awards and National Film Awards ceremonies. The remake rights for the film were bought by Rajalaxmi Art Films to remake it in Telugu as Padaharella Vayasu.

Plot

Mayil is a 16-year-old girl, (Sridevi), filled with ambitions of becoming a teacher. She is an attractive, intelligent woman living in a small society and experiences ripe love when sees the new veterinarian who has come to visit. Many are impressed by this charming young fellow who has entered the village. He seems to be a wealthy, prosperous man and soon develops a relationship with Mayil. Mayil, who is deeply in love, sacrifices her opportunity to study in the teaching college course to spend time with him. But his intentions are not pure and he dumps Mayil after consummating their relationship.

Mayil's mother also passes away, leaving her only with distant cousin Chappani (Kamal Haasan) for support. Chappani, a village bumpkin, is taken advantage of and isolated by the society. He is secretly in love with Mayil, but is jealous and upset about the vet. Another important character is the village roughie Parattai (Rajinikanth) who also has an eye on Mayil. How Mayil lives and whom she chooses as her man forms the rest of the story.

The theme of this emotive story is to show how vulnerable women are when in love. This story conveys strong themes and depicts an issue faced by many young women all over the world.

Cast

• Kamal Haasan as Chappani / Gopalakrishnan
• Rajinikanth as Parattai
• Sridevi as Mayilu
• Kanthimathi as Kuruvamma
• K. Bhagyaraj as Sathyajith (Vaithiyar)
• Goundamani as Koothu

Production

The film was Bharathiraja's directorial debut, and was made on a budget of 5 lakh. Kamal Haasan was paid a salary of 27000, while Rajinikanth was reported to have been paid 3000.^[6] In 2013 however, Bharathiraja revealed that he had paid 2500 to Rajinikanth, who had earlier charged 5000.^[7] Bharathiraja said that he had approached Rajinikanth by telling him that he was making an art film.^[8] Kanthimathi was cast as Mayil's mother and Bharathiraja stated, "at the time I was writing Padhinaru Vayathinile, I was looking for someone who could speak the ‘vattara vazhakku' (local dialect) well, and I could not think of anyone else".^[9] K. Bhagyaraj was working as an assistant director to Bharathiraja in the film^[10] which was shot at Kollegal in Karnataka. For the role of a doctor, various aspirants were tried out but Bharathiraja decided that Bhagyaraj should play the role.^[11]

Bharathiraja told that the film was to be made in black-and-white by the National Film Development Corporation of India but it backed out at the last minute.^[12] Bharathiraja went ahead with the film, shooting for the first time in natural light. Kamal Haasan said that they did not have the budget to afford a camera that could shoot slow motion scenes and therefore Sridevi had to literally run in slow motion for a particular scene.^[13]

Tamil producer Rajkannu was a lorry driver by profession. He had an ambition to make at least one film in his lifetime! When Bharati Raja said he can make a film with four and half lakhs, Rajkannu agreed and started the film, but the film was not finished within the planned budget, and he had to sell off his lorry in order to complete the film. However, as the film reached its completion, no one seemed to come forward to release the film, and the producer was forced to release the movie himself with six prints.^[14]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.^[15]

Remakes

In 2009, Kannada actor Ganesh stated that he and his wife had acquired the remake rights of 16 Vayathinile.^[16]

Release

Reception

IndiaGlitz said, "Rajini as Parattai is as sly as a fox, Kamal as Chappani the innocent lad and Sridevi the attractive teacher give a enjoyable performance. You are sure to keep remembering "Pathavachitiye Parattai" after watching this movie."^[17] Rediff wrote, "Bharati Raja in this lyrical film, forcibly dragged Tamil cinema from the stuffy confines of studio sets into the great outdoors. It heralded the coming of age, in more ways than one, of erstwhile child star Sridevi. The brilliant musical score of Ilayaraja who, seemingly inspired by the outdoors, turned in a medley of outstanding tunes.^[18] Four years later, Rediff wrote, "Bharathiraja was also the producer and scriptwriter of this new genre of pastoral film, which was true to village life in characterisation, costumes and dialect".^[18] Behindwoods wrote, "Bharathiraja’s raw and near perfect depiction of a village had two of Tamil cinema’s most memorable all time performances, Parattai and Chappani".^[19]

16 Vayathinile is considered a cult classic ^{[20][21][22][23]} and landmark in Tamil cinema.^[24][25] IBN Live included the film in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.^[26] In 2007, The Hindu asked eight Tamil directors to list ten films they like most. Seven of them, C. V. Sridhar, K. Balachander, J. Mahendran, K. Bhagyaraj, Mani Ratnam, K. S. Ravikumar and Ameer Sultan, named 16 Vayathinile as one of their favourite Tamil films.^[27] Mani Ratnam stated, "‘16 Vayathinile’ is memorable for its script, high standard and realism.^[27]

16 Vayathinile was spoofed in the 2012 film Murattu Kaalai.^[28][29] The dialogue "Idhu eppadi irukku" spoken by Rajinikanth is very popular. In 2013, IANS included it in a list of dialogues popularised by Rajinikanth and wrote, "Rajini as the film's antagonist introduced us to one of the popular catch-phrases of a long forgotten era - "Idhu eppadi irukku?" (How's this?). This line was so admired that even after three decades since the film's release, it still lingers in the minds of the actor's fans".^[30] Rediff also wrote, "He repeats the punchline 'Ithu eppadi irukku?'(How's that?) with lecherous glee to the delight of his fans. Repeated punchlines, merrily lapped up by the increasing multitude of his fans, became a part of Rajni's acting style and the trend continues to this day".^[18] Behindwoods too made mention of it, "How often is the one liner delivered by a villain remembered and repeated for years? Rarely, if ever and it took one of Rajini’s finest performances to make this happen".^[19]

Awards

National Film Awards

• National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer - S. Janaki

Filmfare Awards South

• Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil - Kamal Haasan

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

• Best Director – Bharathiraja
• Best Actor – Kamal Haasan
• Best Female Playback Singer – S. Janaki
• Best Music Director – Ilaiyaraaja

References

External links

• 16 Vayathinile at the Internet Movie Database
• DearCinema
• 16 Vayathinile Tamil Songs Listen and Download