Development Following a brief break after the release of his directorial project
Kaatru Veliyidai (2017),
Mani Ratnam chose to begin pre-production on his next film by July 2017 and brought in composer
A. R. Rahman and cinematographer
Santosh Sivan for the project. Siva Ananth was credited as the co-writer, while
Bejoy Nambiar worked as one of the creative producers.
Dhilip Subbarayan was signed to choreograph the stunt sequences, while
Sharmishta Roy and
Eka Lakhani were signed as the production designer and costume designer, respectively. In a 2022 interview with journalist Sudhir Srinivasan, Ratnam revealed that
Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb's
battle for the throne was the inspiration for the film.
Casting In July 2017, reports suggested that the film would feature four male characters, and actors
Vijay Sethupathi,
Arvind Swamy,
Fahadh Faasil and
Dulquer Salmaan were in negotiations to play various roles. While the first three actors eventually accepted to work on the film, discussions with Dulquer fell through.
Silambarasan later signed on in early September 2017, and an official announcement from the production studio confirmed the four lead actors were attached to the project.
Nani had also held discussions with Ratnam for a role in the film, but was later not included in the final cast. Prior to the beginning of the shoot, Silambarasan undertook a weight loss regimen to get into shape for his character. In the months leading up to the start of the shoot, there was speculation in the media that Silambarasan would be banned from the project after allegations were made by producer
S. Michael Rayappan about the actor's non co-operation during the making of
Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan (2017). Despite protests from other film producers, Ratnam chose to retain Silambarasan. In a media interaction during January 2018, Sethupathi confirmed that he would portray a full-length role, denying reports that it was a cameo. Fahadh later opted out due to scheduling conflicts, and was later replaced by
Arun Vijay.
Jyothika agreed to portray a leading female role in early September 2017, and confirmed her participation to the media while promoting
Magalir Mattum (2017). She had earlier appeared in Ratnam's production venture
Dumm Dumm Dumm (2001), but stated her excitement at being selected in a film to be directed by him. Likewise,
Aishwarya Rajesh also revealed her presence in the project in early September 2017, and expressed her delight working with Ratnam. In late January 2018,
Aditi Rao Hydari, who had starred in
Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), was also confirmed to be a part of the cast. Model Dayana Erappa also later joined the cast to play the fourth leading actress, marking her first acting assignment. She was cast after two rounds of auditions and then prepared for her role by attending workshops led by theatre actors in Mumbai. For a supporting role, actress
Jayasudha agreed to work on the film in November 2017, while
Prakash Raj joined the cast during the following month to portray her husband. The production house revealed that actors
Thiagarajan and
Mansoor Ali Khan were also added to the cast before filming started. Furthermore, other supporting actors including
Cheenu Mohan and Malayalam actor
Antony Varghese were reported to have signed to play characters in the film, though Varghese was later replaced by
Appani Sarath.
Filming In late January 2018, before the start of the shoot,
Lyca Productions reportedly agreed to purchase the rights of the film on a "first copy" basis and release it worldwide. Three days before the start of the shoot in February 2018, the film's title was announced as
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam in Tamil, and as
Nawab for the dubbed Telugu version.
Principal photography began on 12 February 2018 on the outskirts of Chennai, with scenes shot on the
East Coast Road and at the Apollo Hospital in
Vanagaram during the first schedule. A second schedule began on 26 February 2018, with all members of the cast intermittently featuring in the shoot. As the second schedule progressed, cinematographer Santosh Sivan released images of the various actors on the sets of the film. The shoot continued in Chennai until mid-March, with a wedding scene, also shot, before being halted as a result of a film industry-wide production strike announced by the Tamil Film Producers Council, who were campaigning against extortionate rates employed by digital service providers. Following the strike, production resumed in Chennai on 25 April 2018, with scenes involving Sethupathi being shot near Kovalam Beach in Chennai. Media reports emerged suggesting that the production team had carelessly littered areas of the beach during the making of the film, making it dangerous for public use, but executive producer Siva Ananth refuted the allegations. In May 2018, the team travelled to
Abu Dhabi and
Dubai to shoot scenes involving Arun and Aishwarya, as a part of three week schedule. The final schedule featuring Silambarasan was completed over a week in
Serbia and principal photography subsequently wrapped on 2 June 2018.
A. Sreekar Prasad edited the film. == Music ==