At age 16, starlet Sridevi stepped unsteadily into the Hindi film industry with this third remake of 16th Spring ie the Tamil original 16 Vayathinile (1977) and Telugu Padaharella Vayasu (1978), which was re-shot frame by frame with different actors to serve the Hindi belt - except for the exceptional leading lady, Sridevi. A lot changed in the Hindi revamp, the music, the lyrics, several key actors.
Unlike its predecessors, the film was a critical and commercial flop. Even for a hardcore Sridevi fan like moi, watching the Hindi version with Amol Palekar as Sridevi's love interest--who was 19 years older than Sridevi and looked it--was difficult to stomach. Somehow, there was a 'watchability' to the Tamil original with its stellar cast of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan } the holy trinity of Tollywood.
Sadly, Sridevi didn't enjoy the Hindi remake, the film tanked and the awkward, gawky teen who spoke no Hindi and barely spoke English returned to Madras studios, where she had innumerable films waiting in the wings.
Biding her time, it took another four years, a head-to-toe makeover, and Sridevi would return with a bang... Or should I say banger, with Nainon main sapna in Himmatwala (1983).
PS: Have no official record of when Solva Saawan released in 1979, but the original 16 Vayathinile released on 15 September 1977 ie 47 years ago today.
The photograph of Sridevi on the swing is not from Solva Sawan. It's from Kalyana raman tamil film.
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