Development In July 2012, it was reported first that
Suriya had signed on for a film directed and produced by
N. Lingusamy under his
Thirrupathi Brothers banner and that he would work on it after
Maattrraan (2012) and
Singam 2 (2013). After the completion of both films, the actor was reported to work simultaneously with Lingusamy and director
Gautham Vasudev Menon for a film titled
Dhruva Natchathiram. Suriya waited for six months after
Singam 2, but failed to receive a complete script from Gautham Menon and no progress took place in this period of time. Owing to this reason, he opted out of Menon's film in October 2013 and announced that he would soon start work on Lingusamy's film. The director confirmed the news and also stated the film would officially start filming from mid-November 2013. Lingusamy recalled that when he decided to collaborate with Suriya, he had narrated multiple scripts, which the latter rejected it. After he remembered the one-line narration he had written for
Karthi, he then discussed with his team and prepared a script based on it which Suriya was impressed by the narration. He added that the script was written specifically for Suriya, where unlike his other action films which were character-driven, Lingusamy made it with a mass appeal where "his very presence on screen should have fans clapping and whistling", in comparison with
Vijay's
Pokkiri and
Ajith Kumar's
Billa (both 2007). but in that October he was replaced by
Santosh Sivan, who collaborates with Lingusamy for the first time. Lingusamy further renewed his norm technicians, which includes music director
Yuvan Shankar Raja, editor
Anthony, production designer
Rajeevan, action director
Stunt Silva and dialogue writer
Brinda Sarathy. In September 2013, reports surfaced that the film would be titled
Rowdy, which Lingusamy dismissed it. The film began production without a title, before the official title
Anjaan was announced in January 2014. The same month, a press statement from Thirrupathi Brothers revealed that
UTV Motion Pictures would co-produce and distribute the film, in their second consecutive collaboration with the banner after
Vettai (2012).
Casting Suriya was said to possess dual roles with two different appearances for filming. The first of his appearance, being a "raw and jagged look" according to Lingusamy, where he would be seen growing beard for his role, whereas his other look not being revealed and kept as a surprise. In November 2012, it was reported that
Samantha Ruth Prabhu has been cast as the female lead.
Vidyut Jammwal was confirmed to play an important role in the film. Speaking to Srinivasa Ramanujam of
The Hindu, Jammwal added that he met Lingusamy at the after-party of an award function where the latter was interested to cast him for the film. Soon after, he received a call from the production house and eventually auditioned for an important role in the film. Though he was not playing an antagonist role unlike his previous films, Jammwal revealed that: "Suriya and my characters are partners in crime, brothers in arms. It's a role I haven't done before and I'm really excited about it."
Manoj Bajpayee was reported to be playing the film's antagonist.
Dalip Tahil was signed on for the role of a small, but powerful don in the film.
Vivek was initially approached to play a comedic role in the film but could not take up the offer as a result of date clashes with
Vai Raja Vai. Instead, he was replaced by
Soori in March 2014.
Sana Khan was approached to do a special number in the film but she declined the offer as she prioritized to promote her Bollywood film
Jai Ho (2014). Actress
Maryam Zakaria was chosen to do an
item number in the film.
Filming In mid-October 2013, a test shoot occurred with Suriya and Malavika Rampradeep, a Bharatanatyam dancer, at the
Prasad Studios in Chennai, where Sivan used the
Red Dragon 6K Digital camera along with a high zoom lens. Sivan reported that it was the first film in the word to be shot with this camera, a technology which had not been used in Hollywood films. On 15 November, Suriya completed a photo-shoot of the film which was done by still photographer
Venket Ram.
Principal photography began on 20 November 2013 in
Mumbai with a proposed month-long schedule. In December 2013, filming halted as Samantha developed a mild skin irritation as a result of shooting in extreme heat conditions. This resulted the lead actors and the unit to return to Chennai. Filming resumed a few days later, with an intro song ("Bang Bang Bang") being shot with Suriya, Jammwal and Zakaria. A specially constructed set was erected at
Borivali to shoot the song, which costed them . Filming continued in late December, where the team shot some "breezy, lighthearted sequences" featuring Suriya and Samantha. The latter had participated for the shoot for ten days due to her commitments for filming in
Rabhasa. Filming for the second schedule commenced in late-January. In early February, the crew filmed a song sequence featuring Suriya and Samantha ("Ek Do Teen") in
Panchgani where the song was shot for seven days. After a brief break, the team started filming for the third schedule on 5 March 2014. An item number featuring Bajpayee and Singh ("Sirippu En") was shot in this schedule. On 30 March 2014, the team canned few action sequences at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station but was halted in the afternoon due to protesters shouting slogans against Lingusamy and Sivan. They demanded on the removal of
Inam from theatres, which Lingusamy had distributed. Lingusamy then sorted out the issues with the protestors on their demands and restarted filming the following day. In mid-April, the team left to
Goa for filming few portions with the lead actors. It was further reported that Samantha had completed filming her talkie portions, with only one song being left to be filmed. During this schedule, Suriya suffered a minor ligament tear in his knees after a fighter who weighed about 120 kg fell from a height on his leg. This resulted in the actor taking a break from filming. The team then resumed the final schedule in early June with the song "Oru Kan JaadaI" being filmed at the
Morjim and
Miramar beaches of Goa. In mid-June, the team left to Mumbai for patchwork filming which was completed by 21 June 2014. ==Music==