Development A. K. Lohithadas got the plot idea from a story that circulated in his locality about an incident that happened in
Chalakudy that narrates how a carpenter knocked down a notorious criminal named Keshavan with a single hit. Lohithadas, who was unable to attend the wedding of
Sibi Malayil, wrote the screenplay of
Kireedam as a compensation gift for Malayil. He completed the screenplay in just six days. Filming was completed in 25 days in
Thiruvananthapuram. The film cost ₹23.5 lakh to make, produced by Dinesh Panicker and N. Krishnakumar under the company Kripa Films.
Kireedam (crown) was originally the title given by Lohithadas for his previous screenplay, directed by
I. V. Sasi. But Sasi did not like the name and had a dispute with Lohithadas. Malayil on hearing this incident from Lohithadas said he would like to adopt the title for his film. Sasi's film was released under the title
Mukthi (1988). Initially,
Thilakan declined the role of Achuthan Nair due to scheduling conflicts with the films
Chanakyan (1989) and
Varnam (1989). The film, originally planned to shoot at
Nemmara and
Chittur in
Palakkad district was changed to
Thiruvananthapuram to accommodate Thilakan who was filming for
Varnam at
Thiruvananthapuram. Thilakan joined the shoot of
Kireedam during the intervals of
Varnam. The makers initially chose
Pradeep Shakthi for the role of Keerikkadan Jose, who had acted in
Chamaram (1980) and was then an established actor in
Telugu films. Shakthi also agreed to do the film and was given advance payment. Shakthi, who was supposed to arrive on the day of filming, did not come due to reasons best known for him, they were compelled to make an immediate replacement. It was an associate director who suggested the name of beginner
Mohan Raj, who had acted in a minor role in
Moonnam Mura. Upon seeing Raj, he was immediately fixed. His character name Keerikkadan Jose later became his
stage name. Dubbing artist Nirmal Prakash gave voice to the character.
Filming The climax scene featuring Mohanlal and Thilakan was shot in
Aryanadu in
Thiruvananthapuram. Instead of the melancholic song "Kanneer Poovinte", a romantic song was originally shot to feature the romance between Sethumadhavan and Devi. But after realizing it would not align in the story-line, it was scrapped. Since there was not enough time to complete the shoot of "Kanneer Poovinte", some of the scenes shot for the romantic song was used in it. The shot where Mohanlal is walking alone through a long lane in the song was filmed at the iconic
Vellayani in
Thiruvananthapuram. The song's composition was a modified version of the romantic song. S. Kumar was the cinematographer. The climactic action between Sethumadhavan and Keerikadan Jose in the film was not choreographed by a stunt coordinator nor rehearsed. Sibi Malayil shot it as an impromptu brawl where both Mohanlal and Mohan Raj, improvised blow after blow staying within the framing limits set by two cameras. ==Soundtrack==