An actor whose life story continues to remain a subject of major debate to this date, Silk Smitha, born as Vijayalakshmi Vadlapatla, went on to become one of the most popular names in South Indian cinema. A highly sought-after actress, especially during the 1980s, "Silk" as she was called by her fans, appeared in over 450 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, including Hindi languages. Hailing from a poor family and struggling to make her ends meet, she tasted major success in cinema and was considered a sex symbol during her time, while also turning out to be a massive crowd-puller for nearly 17 years of her career. However, tragedy struck when the actress committed suicide in 1996 in Chennai, with fans still continuing to revere her as one who had also given notable performances in her career.

Now, producers Chithra Lakshmanan of Gayathri Films and H Murali's Murali Cine Arts have announced that they will jointly be making a biopic on late actress Silk Smitha, which has been titled as Aval Appadithan. The upcoming project will be directed by Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya fame K S Manikandan, with the shooting revealed to begin this November. Aval Appadithan will showcase interesting and in-depth details of the actress's life which saw various twists and turns, the producers said in an official statement. Speaking about the reason for Silk Smitha's success, director K S Manikandan stated that it has to be attributed to her eyes which told so many tales. In regard to the casting for the portrayal of the late actress, he stated, "Her hotness quotient too has been unmatched till date. And to play her character, we are trying to get the right person who can do justice to the role."

It is to be noted that around mid-2018 director Pa. Ranjith too had announced a web series on the yesteryear actor, which he said would be shot and aired across several episodes. There has been debate that the smash hit Hindi film, The Dirty Picture, released in 2011 and starring National Award-winning actress Vidya Balan was also based on Silk Smitha.