Tamil filmmakers and creators have always championed socio-economic causes through their creations. Among them is the director-producer Karthik Subbaraj, who is behind the upcoming thriller, Neelira, which centers on the lives of Eelam Tamils.

Speaking at the promotional event of Neelira, Karthik said, "There are a lot of classics that are based on wars. There are action films like 1917 (2019), and feel good ones like Life Is Beautiful (1997)."

He further explained, "When we were young we became excited at the sight of an aeroplane flying by. The excitement that the aeroplane evokes in a child who is travelling in a rickshaw in Madurai. Or the distraction that the aeroplane creates in an excited child, who is fed food by the mother, on a terrace, is similar to the impact that a child in Eelam has when an aeroplane flies by. This impact is what I tried to show in my short film, Katchi Pizhai."

He also said, "When The Pianist came out, we knew nothing about World War II. We know nothing about life during that period. The film is about a piano player. There is a scene in the film, where cannot go outside his house. After a long time, when he sees a piano, he wants to play it. He thinks that he has to play it. But if he plays it, the music will be heard outside and a bomb will attack him. In this situation, there is a scene where the musician plays the piano beautifully without touching the instrument. It gave me a wonderful feeling. It gave me an understanding of the war. It made me realize what the mentality of the people was during that period. I wanted to make films like this."

Neelira is directed by Somatheeran, and is produced by Kaarthekeyen Santhanam along with Karthik Subbaraj under the Stone Bench banner. Actor-producer Rana Daggubati is backing the film under his Spirit Media banner.