Initially, Fazil approached Abbas for the lead role in this film. However, apparently Abbas' manager made a mistake with the his call sheets, which led to Vijay being selected for the role instead.
This film is a remake of director Fazil's own Malayalam movie, Aniyathipraavu (1997). Shalini reprises her role from the original film.
The film saw Vijay win the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor alongside Parthiban in 1997, while Pazhani Bharathi also picked up the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist for his work in the film.