Development Ram Gopal Varma signed
Suriya for a multilingual
action film titled
The Businessman in May 2010, to be directed by
Puri Jagannadh simultaneously in
Telugu,
Tamil and
Hindi. The film's protagonist was supposed to be a South Indian coming to
Mumbai and setting up a crime business using tact and intelligence to emerge as one of the biggest gangsters. The film's production was expected to begin in October 2010 once Suriya completed his part in
7 Aum Arivu (2011) and was scheduled for release in the summer of 2011. It was speculated that the film was to be based on the real-life story of a gangster who had moved from the
Cuddalore district of
Tamil Nadu to Mumbai in the late 1960s. The film was revived later by
R. R. Venkat later in January 2011 with a tagline "Guns do not need agreements". He signed
Mahesh Babu as the protagonist who worked with Jagannadh in the past for
Pokiri (2006). Venkat added that the film would be produced under the banner R. R. Movie Makers. Jagannadh completed the final draft of the film's script on 25 July 2011 during his stay at
Bangkok, adding that he was inspired by Ram Gopal Varma. He stated that the pending pre-production work would begin in
Hyderabad after a week. The film had its formal launch on 15 August 2011 with a small
pooja ceremony conducted at Hyderabad.
Shyam K. Naidu and
S. Thaman were confirmed as the film's cinematographer and music director respectively.
Casting Babu received the film's script while
dubbing for
Dookudu (2011), but due to that commitment, it took 10 days to finish reading the script. He said in an interview that he could maintain the consistency in the character only because of the fewer working days. Jagannadh did not cast
Brahmanandam and
Ali because of Babu's specific characterisation; he added that Babu's voice had changed when compared to his performance in
Pokiri. Babu also convinced Jagannadh to give up smoking, since he himself was trying to give up after being a chain smoker.
Shruti Haasan was initially considered for the female lead role after her performance in her Telugu film debut,
Anaganaga O Dheerudu (2011). However,
Kajal Aggarwal was signed as the female lead later in May 2011, marking her first collaboration with both Babu and Jagannadh respectively. She was paid 1 crore for this film. Jagannadh confirmed reports stating Babu and Aggarwal sharing a kiss in the film, adding that he retained them after Babu's wife
Namrata Shirodkar approved it. It was reportedly the first onscreen kiss for Babu. Aggarwal explained that it was not supposed to be sensual, but was meant to portray the conflict between two characters, and added that it was shot "aesthetically" by Jagannadh.
Prakash Raj,
Nassar,
Sayaji Shinde,
Dharmavarapu Subramanyam,
Brahmaji, and
Bandla Ganesh among others were cast for key supporting roles.
Hansika Motwani was rumoured to be a part of the film's cast in late August 2011 but not immediately confirmed. In mid October 2011, Hansika reportedly agreed to perform an
item number in the film. She later dismissed those reports as baseless rumours, claiming that other acting assignments keep her away from accepting. Actress
Shweta Bhardwaj was therefore selected to perform the item number instead. She was friends with Jagannadh, and he approached her for this song during the film's shoot at Mumbai, saying that the song suited her and her personality as a dancer. She also tried to understand the meaning of the lyrics while dancing. Bhardwaj was afraid of dancing, suspecting a possible sprain, and found the costumes uneasy, but had to continue upon the choreographer's insistence. Canadian-born Indian actress Ayesha Shiva was signed to play Aggarwal's friend in the film.
Filming , where
principal photography began. The film was planned to be shot entirely in and around Mumbai and Jagannadh searched for distinct localities there which suit the script's backdrops. Jagannadh told Venkat that he needed 75 working days to complete the film's shoot. He planned to start with Babu in the first week of September 2011 and established this schedule before finishing in the first week of January 2012. Filming began on 2 September 2011 at
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. The second schedule began at Mumbai from 20 September 2011, and Babu confirmed in an interview that it would last until 5 December 2011. An action sequence choreographed by Vijayan was shot in mid October 2011, and it was announced that the film's climax would be shot in and around Goa from 27 October 2011. The song "We Want Bad Boys" was shot in late October 2011. Jagannadh revealed in an interview that the film's length by the end of shoot was 84,000 feet as planned. He added that Babu and Aggarwal participated in the film's shoot for 65 and 30 days respectively.
Post production The film's
dubbing activities began on 15 December 2011 at Shabdalaya Studios in Hyderabad. The
Central Board of Film Certification passed the film with an 'A' certificate; board members found few of the film's dialogues offensive and potentially upsetting to the people of Mumbai. Despite being set in
Mumbai, the film features dialogue in Telugu, a language that is not native to the city for the convenience of the viewers. A disclaimer at the beginning of the film is given regarding the same. == Music ==