Director Sundar C said in an interview that Aranmanai was loosely based on the 1978 movie Aayiram Jenmangal.
Sundar C had cast Arya and Nayanthara in the sibling roles eventually played by himself and Andrea Jeremiah, but replaced them, following the release of Raja Rani, where the actors played a couple.Tamannaah Bhatia was initially announced to be playing the lead role. Later, she was replaced by Hansika Motwani following scheduling issues.Kannada actor Ragini Dwivedi was first signed up for a glamorous supporting role, but was later replaced by Raai Laxmi.The exterior shots in the film were fully shot in Pollachi.Aranmanai was majorly shot in a palace set, created for Mohan Babu in Hyderabad.A total of 2 crores was spent for renovating the palace set, in which 70 per cent of the film was eventually shot.The film's music was composed by Bharathwaj, which happened to be his last big film. He had composed for Ajith's Aasal (2010) before this film.The film features more than one hour of CG imagery, which were fully done by Indian graphic artists.The film is referenced in STR'S Vaalu (2015).