Karthik Subbaraj, whose latest production venture under his Stone Bench Creations is 29, revealed that director Rathna Kumar considered dropping the film at one point at the film's pre-release event on Wednesday.

Headlined by Vidhu and Preethi Asrani, 29 marks a reunion for Rathna Kumar with Karthik Subbaraj, who produced his debut film, Meyaadha Maan. The upcoming film is also produced by Lokesh Kanagaraj under his G Squad banner.

Speaking at the event, Karthik said, "I’ve known this story for many years." He then said that the script has been marinating for years, even before Rathna Kumar made Aadai. "I’ve seen multiple versions of it, discussed it in different forms, and even worked with him on various iterations. At one point, he even wanted to drop this script and move on to something else. But I kept telling him that this is a solid story."

Previously, the makers of 29 unveiled the 'Poo Paadal' song from the film, featuring the male lead buying the female lead a string of jasmine flowers. Analysing the visual composition of the song, Karthik said, "There’s a scene at the beach where a flower is bought—I’ve known that scene for many years. I had read it long ago and forgotten about it. But when I saw 'Poo Paadal', I immediately called Rathna and asked, 'How are you writing poetry like this? What’s the inspiration?' I hope he clarifies that."

The film marks a directorial comeback for Rathna Kumar after 2022's Gulu Gulu, starring Santhanam and Namita Krishnamurthy. Since then, the filmmaker has been working on multiple projects in different capacities, including as a co-writer and a dialogue writer on Lokesh Kanagaraj films such as Master, Vikram, Leo and Coolie, and recently on Suriya-RJ Balaji's Karuppu.

Coming back to 29, the upcoming film has music by Sean Roldan, cinematography by Madhesh Manickam, and editing by RS Sathish Kumar. Also starring Mahendran, Avinash, Shenaz Fathima and Prem Kumar, the film is slated for a May 08 release.