Gopalakrishan wanted fresh faces for both the lead roles and he had written letters to various heads of colleges and universities for the auditions . However , he did not receive any response from anywhere . For the female lead , Gopalakrishnan approached Sharada , one of the most successful actresses of her time . She was acting in commercial films when Gopalakrishnan asked her to star in '' Swayamvaram '' . Sharada was initially reluctant to commit herself to an art film , but agreed when Gopalakrishnan narrated the complete story to her at Prasad Studios , in Chennai . The male lead for the film , Madhu , was an old friend of Gopalakrishnan and had expressed a desire to act in one of his films . By the time Gopalakrishnan finished his studies and returned from FTII , Madhu was already a star in Malayalam cinema . Gopalakrishnan then decided to cast him opposite Sharada . Mentioning about his experience working with Gopalakrishnan and '' Swayamvaram '' , Madhu recollected in an interview that " ... when Gopalakrishnan narrated the story of '' Swayamvaram '' , I knew it was going to be different . " Years later he also mentioned that he " sometimes wished Prem Nazir had acted in Adoor 's '' Swayamvaram '' . He might have won a Bharath award . But he was very busy those days . " Malayalam actor-director Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was cast as a college principal . Bharath Gopi , who later became a major actor in the Malayalam film industry , made his film debut in '' Swayamvaram '' , doing a minor role as the dismissed factory employee who gets replaced by Madhu . Gopi was a noted stage actor before '' Swayamvaram '' and would later play the lead role in Gopalakrishnan 's second feature film , '' Kodiyettam '' , which earned him a reputation as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema and also inspired his screen name as " Bharath Gopi " or " Kodiyettam Gopi " . He won a Best Actor award , then known as " Bharat Award " , for the role at the 25th National Film Awards in 1977
25th National Film Awards
25th National Film Awards
Swayamvaram (1972 film)