In 2021, after almost 3 years of hinting, actor Suriya officially announced that the highly anticipated reunion between him and taskmaster director Bala was finally happening. Vanangaan was to become Suriya's third movie with Bala after Nandhaa (2001) and Pithamagan (2003). The film even went into production with Suriya's 2D Entertainment backing it, and Amazon Prime Video holding the OTT rights.
A year into Vanangaan's announcement and shooting, the project was dropped by Suriya as a whole. In 2022, Arun Vijay replaced Suriya as the lead actor of the movie. Vanangaan's current producer Suresh Kamatchi tells Ananda Vikatan that reviving this project was a no-brainer for both him and actor Arun Vijay.
"My films always get controversies. Four people will call me and tell me 'don't make this film'. I never take that into consideration. Arun Vijay has long dreamt of acting in Bala sir's direction. He was happy that it happened. Moreover, Arun Vijay came to act only after making the courtesy call to Suriya Sir. Surya Sir too has given his blessing stating 'make the film well'.
Bala sir is a good creator. He is an uncompromising creator. He is always ready to lose anything to turn his thoughts into reality. I liked that stubbornness in Bala Sir. Bala Sir has a lot of love and respect for Suriya brother. Surya sir willingly came to our event (Vanangaan audio launch which also celebrated 25 years of Bala).
I did not want to know what is the difference between them. Bala brother was clear that Surya sir should not get hurt anywhere." - Suresh Kamatchi to Vikatan Tamil magazine
From the original team, Bala has managed to retain GV Prakash for music and Sathish Suriya for edits. Vanangaan album comes with 5 songs with lyrics by Karthik Netha, and Selvamira. The Selvamira penned song titled Mugilin Mele has vocals by singer Saindhavi.
Vanangaan trailer hints of a revenge action, with a deaf and mute Arun Vijay willingly accepting to a crime and ending up in jail. Suresh Kamatchi has additionally revealed that the film would leave you feeling heavy. The V house productions backed Vanangaan releases in theaters on January 10, 2025 marking Pongal.