The cult classic '16 Vayadhinile' carries significance as the film that shed light on many legends who went on to make their mark in Tamil and Indian cinema and are still considered as icons of the industry.  It introduced Bharathiraja to the silver screen,  the man who took Tamil cinema from the studios to the outdoor and stamped his authority over rural entertainers.  The star cast of Kamal as Chappani, Sridevi as Mayil and Rajini as Chappani not only lived their roles but have grown in stature as the biggest super stars of India today.

Ilayaraja scored the music for '16 Vayadhinile' and this was the film that elevated him from good to the best.  K.Bhagyaraj the screenplay king started his journey as an assistant director and also made a blink and miss appearance on screen.  The comedy king Gowndamani got noticed only in this film as Rajini's sidekick. Malaysia Vasudevan became a household name after singing the "Aatukutti Muttai Ittu" song. 

In a scene where Sridevi was required to spit on Rajini the dedicated actor asked her to do it for real so that the effect would be better. Kamal who was known as the handsome young hero of Tamil cinema went completely deglam for the role and in majority of scenes appeared with only a piece of cloth (Kovanam) around his waist. One cannot imagine that this critically acclaimed and commercial super hit was made only on a budget of 5Lakh rupees. 

Bharathiraja initially wrote the script titled 'Mayilu' and wanted to cast Nagesh in the lead role but eventually it was his best friend S.P.Balasubramaniam  who tried to produce it.  Due to budgetary constraints SPB introduced Bharathiraja to S.A. Rajkannu who offered to  produce  and thus forced his way into the history books as the man behind such a remarkable film that Tamil cinema and its fans will be proud of forever.