On Wednesday, Jiiva took to his official X handle to pen a note remembering late filmmaker KV Anand, on the 15th anniversary of their film together, Ko. Sharing the poster, he wrote, "On this day, I remember my most favourite #KVAnand sir. I still remember the first phone call and the last message from you, sir. You were, you are, and you will always remain an ever-living genius. Thank you, sir. Thank you all for the love showered on Ashwin and the others."

KV Anand helmed Ko from a script he co-wrote with Subha. Apart from Jiiva, the 2011 film also stars Ajmal Ameer, Karthika Nair and Piaa Bajpai, while Prakash Raj, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Bose Venkat appear in supporting roles. Karthika made her feature debut with the film. Jagan, Achyuth Kumar, Vanitha Krishnachandran, Pattimandram Raja, Mani M. Mani, Sona Heiden, and Kaajal Pasupathi, among others, formed the film's supporting cast.

In Ko, Jiiva plays photojournalist Ashwin, who, while covering the Tamil Nadu elections, uncovers a conspiracy involving Naxalites. Anand wrote the script based on his own experiences as a photojournalist. Ko opened to both critical acclaim and commercial success and went on to win four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards in the music director, stunt coordination, art direction and costume design categories. The film was further remade in Bengali, two years later, as Kanamachi.

KV Anand, who was infected by the COVID-19 virus, passed away after suffering from a massive cardiac arrest on April 30, 2021. Having started his career as a photojournalist, Anand worked as a cinematographer between 1994 and 2007, during which he cranked the camera for films like Thenmavin Kombath, Kadhal Desam, Nerukku Ner, Boys and Sivaji: The Boss. He won the National Award for Best Cinematography for his debut work in Thenmavin Kombath.

Anand went on to make his directorial debut with Kana Kandaen in 2005. He then made Maattrraan, Ayan, Anegan, Kavan, and Kaappaan, apart from Ko.