Dharmathin Thalaivan is the Tamil remake of the 1978 Bollywood film, Kasme Vade, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rakhee. The film was remade in Telugu and Sinhalese as well.
The film was Devar films' collaboration with Rajini after a gap of 5 years.Rajini wished to help Devar films R. Thyagarajan, who was in huge debts because of continuous flops, and agreed to do Dharmathin Thalaivan under his banner.Dharmathin Thalaivan was the 21st collaboration between Rajinikanth and SP Muthuraman. They first worked together in Bhuvana Oru Kelvi kuri. They did 25 films together.Dharmathin Thalaivan saw Prabhu and Rajini pairing for second time after Guru Sishyan (1988). Gautami had made her Tamil debut as the heroine in Guru Sishyan,Dharmathin Thalaivan saw Prabhu and Rajini pairing for second time after Guru Sishyan (1988). Gautami had made her Tamil debut as the heroine in Guru Sishyan,Rajinikanth's role of the absent-minded professor was later referenced in the title poster of Arya's Ghajinikanth.Before this film, Rajinikanth had dual roles in big hits like Rajathi Raja , Adhisiya Piravi etc. So, a double role for Rajini was considered as a lucky charm.Suhasini, who plays Rajini's love interest in the film, had earlier played the latter’s sister in Thai Veedu, another Devar films' production.Dharmathin Thalaivan became a super hit and paid off all the losses of Devar. However it became the final production of Devar films and after that they quit the industry.