Vinodhini began her acting career as a child artist, appearing in films including Manal Kayiru, Puthiya Sagaptham and Mannukkul Vairam,[1] before going on to enact lead roles inTamil films. In 1992, she was directed by Balu Mahendra in Vanna Vanna Pookkal. Although the film was critically as well as commercially successful—it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil and completed a 100-days run in theatres[2]—it failed to propel Vinodhini's career.[3] That year, she debuted in Malayalam cinema withSoorya Manasam and the Kannada film industry with Chaitrada Premanjali, where she took on the stage name Shwetha. Both films were successes.