Gautham Menon, in 2005, planned to make a cop film in Malayalam (which eventually became Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu) and approached Mohanlal after finishing the script, but nothing materialised.
Gautham first discussed the one-line of Pachaikili Muthucharam with Kamal, who requested the full script within 40 days. However he later had second thoughts and asked Gautham for a different subject.
Gautham was keen to make a cop trilogy, much like RGV's gangster trilogy, and planned VV as the second in the series after Kaakha Kaakha. Kamal was impressed with the idea, and gave him the go ahead.
The film was conceived as the story of Indian cop, who moves to America to investigate the case of psychotic serial killers, before returning to pursue the chase in India.
This is one of the stills from the film's photo-shoot. Kamal's character had inspirations from Sherlock Holmes.
As per GVM's usual method for picking a title, he asked his associates for suggestions, which included the title of Thadayara Thaaka, which was later used for another Arun Vijay film.
Producer Kaja Mohideen ran into financial troubles and attempted suicide, soon after VV went on floors. As a result, Kamal wanted to quit the project but GVM convinced him to stay on.
Ravichandran of Oscar Films then stepped in and spent 90 lakhs on the film, before also suddenly withdrawing from the project within fifteen days.
In order not to waste dates, Menon personally funded a schedule in Mumbai featuring Kamal Haasan and Jyothika and spent 80 lakhs, out of his own pocket.
GVM revealed that unlike Kamal's other films, the actor did not want to take control of the script or production. Angered by the many delays, he kept to himself and made only minimal suggestions.
GVM had said that the film had gone through many changes from the original script, with less emphasis on the antagonists than he had hoped, because of his fan attitude towards Kamal.
GVM had also revealed that some of the scenes for songs in the film were forced and shot without him.
Manickam Narayanan took over as a producer for the US schedule on a 'first-copy' basis. Subsequently,50 percent of the film was shot in New York City, where shooting lasted for a month.
GVM had planned to shoot more scenes in New York, including a Hollywood-style car chase sequence, but the change of producer delayed the schedule and increased costs.
Actresses Rohini and Andrea Jeremiah dubbed for the voices of female leads Jyothika and Kamalinee Mukherjee, respectively.
GVM worked on the post-production of VV, while he was simultaneously filming Pachaikili Muthucharam (2007).
GVM had revealed that the serial-killers in the movie, played by Daniel Balaji and Salim Baig, were modeled after the antagonists in Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Seven (1995).
Vettaiyaadu Velaiyaadu marks Harris Jayaraj's first and only collaboration with Kamal Haasan.
VV was one of the first Indian films to be made using the Super 35 camera. It's a film format that uses the same film stock as standard 35 mm film, but puts a larger image frame on that stock.
VV was also one of the first Tamil films to feature gay characters. But their negative portrayal sparked off some outrage.
This was the first Tamil film to be released in 16 theatres in Chennai city alone, which changed the trend of film releases in the city.
Bidushi Dash Barde, who played Rani, Prakashraj's daughter in the film, was found dead in her Andheri apartment in 2012. The death of the model, who was Miss Chennai runner-up 2006, remains a mystery.
Lev Gorn, a Russian-born American stage and television actor, was cast as the NYPD detective, who helps Raghavan in the investidation, after a wide audition.
The opening sequence of the movie, where kamal fight with goons, was shot in the actor's own house in Chennai.
One of the producers of the film, VTV Ganesh, makes a cameo as a goon in the flashback sequence, and also gives a voice to another thug in the same scene.
Amudhan and Ilamaran have a conversation about the their execution plan in their room where Hannibal (2001) poster is seen behind on the wall.
