began discussing plans to make a sequel to his 1996 film, Indian, as early as May 2015. Initial discussions were held with the producer of the original film, A. M. Rathnam of Sri Surya Movies, who stated it was too early to talk about the project. Shankar later became busy with the production of 2.0 and delayed starting the project, but he continued working on a story theme for Indian 2. In late September 2017, the film was then publicly announced during the finale of the Tamilreality television showBigg Boss Tamil in Chennai. The show's host Kamal Haasan, who also played the lead in the original film, was confirmed as the lead actor and Dil Raju was announced as the film's producer for his film studio Sri Venkateswara Creations. Allirajah Subaskaran of Lyca Productions took over as the film's producer in October 2017, after Dil Raju opted out. Ravi Varman agreed to cinematography in the film, but production delays meant that he could not commit dates for the films. R. Rathnavelu and T. Muthuraj joined the team as the cinematographer and art director respectively, while Shankar decided to work with Anirudh Ravichander for the first time, rather than his regular collaborators A. R. Rahman and Harris Jayaraj for the film. Writers Jeyamohan, Kabilan Vairamuthu and Lakshmi Saravanakumar were all signed on to help complete the film's script and dialogues. Despite several proposed announcements of starting dates, the film's shoot was delayed throughout 2018 owing to Shankar's commitments with 2.0, which also faced significant production delays. Kamal Haasan also decided to use the time to release his long-delayed Vishwaroopam II and commit to his political career. Muthuraj began working on the production design during November 2018, as the film's shoot was scheduled to start in early 2019.
Casting
was considered for the leading female role, before Kajal Aggarwal was finalised. For her role, the actress learnt the basics of the Indian martial arts form Kalaripayattu. Siddharth was confirmed to play another role in the film, after the team had initially held discussions with the likes of Silambarasan, Dulquer Salmaan and Arya for the same character. Ajay Devgn agreed to play the antagonist in the film, but production delays meant that he could not commit dates for the films. Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham were considered as replacements, but neither actor was signed. Other actors including Nedumudi Venu, Delhi Ganesh and RJ Balaji were also signed to portray supporting roles in the film. Telugu actor Vennela Kishore was announced to play a supporting role and has allotted 70 days for the film, making his Tamil debut. Closer to the start of the second schedule, actors Vidyut Jammwal and Bobby Simha were signed on for roles. Rakul Preet Singh also joined the film to star opposite the character essayed by Siddharth, while Priya Bhavani Shankar joined to replace Aishwarya Rajesh, who opted out of the film. Actors Samuthirakani,Sathish, George Maryan and Vivek also joined the cast in supporting roles.
Filming
A series of promotional posters featuring Kamal Haasan in his character were released in early January 2019 and production subsequently started on 18 January 2019. A week-long shoot was held at a memorial home near Government General Hospital in Chennai, before the team also shot scenes at a nearby film studio. However the film was again delayed after the makers had trouble with the created sets. The shoot was pushed further owing to the Indian general election in May 2019, where Kamal Haasan's political party participated. Throughout the development process in 2018 and early 2019, the makers regularly denied media reports that the film had been shelved. Owing to the long break between the schedules, Ravi Varman also left the project after becoming committed to Mani Ratnam's upcoming film 'Ponniyin Selvan, and was subsequently replaced by cinematographer R. Rathnavelu who previously worked with director Shankar in Enthiran. The second schedule began on 12 August 2019, with scenes featuring Rakul Preet Singh being shot. An action scene involving Kamal Haasan and 2000 junior artistes was shot in Bhopal at the cost of Rs.40 crores. On 5 November 2019, another schedule completed in Gwalior.
Incident
On 19 February 2020, during the shooting of the film, a crane carrying a heavy flash light fell on the sets, resulting in the deaths of 3 crew members, including an assistant director and leaving nine more injured. Kamal Haasan, Shankar and Kajal Agarwal all had narrow escapes.
Music
The soundtrack album and background score are composed by Anirudh Ravichander, who is working with Kamal Haasan and Shankar for the very first time. The lyrics were written by Thamarai, Pa. Vijay, Vignesh Shivan and Vivek.
