Development At the end of April 2011,
V. V. Vinayak held story discussions for his next film, featuring
Ram Charan as the protagonist and written by Akula Siva. By then, Vinayak was busy in giving final touches to his film
Badrinath (2011), and Ram Charan was participating in the shooting of
Racha (2012), directed by
Sampath Nandi. After completing all of the promotional activities for
Badrinath, Vinayak and Siva started working on the film's script in early July 2011.
DVV Danayya was confirmed to produce the film under the banner Universal Media, and pre-production on the film was expected to be launched in August, followed by filming starting in September 2011. The film's script was approved by Ram Charan's father, and it was announced that actor
Chiranjeevi would be part of the cast;
Kona Venkat was brought in to assist with the film's screenplay. The project was confirmed in late October 2011. The film was officially launched on 9 November 2011, at
Annapurna Studios in
Hyderabad.
S. Thaman was announced as the music director, marking his first collaboration with both Vinayak and Charan;
Chota K. Naidu and Gautham Raju were announced as the film's cinematographer and editor, respectively. The film's title was announced as
Naayak, with the caption "The Leader", on 13 August 2012. Weeks before the film's release, a few
Girijan students protested that the term "Naayak" referred to a certain tribal group, and they demanded a change of the title. While censoring the film, the
Central Board of Film Certification looked into the group's objection about the title. They found that there was no derogatory reference to either the name Naayak or the caste of tribes, either visually or in the audio part of the film, and cleared the use of the title.
Casting Kajal Aggarwal was considered for one of the two female leads in the film in early October 2011, later signing on to the film, which marked her second collaboration with
Ram Charan after
Magadheera (2009). Ram Charan confirmed that he would be seen in a dual role in the film.
Hansika Motwani was rumoured as the second female lead, however this was denied by Danayya, who added that she was never considered for that role, and Kajal was the only actress who had been signed up until that point. In late February 2012,
Amala Paul was selected as the second female lead, which she confirmed to
Sify saying "Mynaa meets Magadheera". It was reported that
Shruti Haasan would perform an
item number in the film, which she later denied.
Chiranjeevi and
N. T. Rama Rao Jr. were rumoured to make cameo appearances in the film.
Charmee Kaur confirmed in late December 2012 that she would perform an item number along with Ram Charan.
Posani Krishna Murali and
Jaya Prakash Reddy were seen in comic roles.
Filming Principal photography began on 7 February 2012. By April 2012, the film was shot at various locales in Hyderabad. A few action sequences were shot at night, for which Ram Charan trained for several days; he performed several of the stunt sequences himself without using a body double. Filming was suspended for almost three weeks when Ram Charan was injured during filming
Racha (2012). Vinayak intended to complete shooting Ram Charan's solo portions and then start the schedule with Kajal; Ram Charan and Amala Paul would take part in the final part of the planned schedule. The next portion of the schedule started in
Dubai, where a song, "Laila O Laila", with Ram Charan and Kajal was shot. Ram Charan later said "It was a week before my wedding and I had just returned from my bachelor's party. I landed directly in Dubai to shoot the song. I had to wear shades to hide the fatigue" and added "I was told that I wouldn't need much rehearsals, but was zapped when I saw the choreographer take me through the routine. I was like 'can we please slow the beat or something?' I couldn't settle for anything less than the best and went ahead and completed the song in seven days." After its completion, some key scenes and songs were shot in Europe involving the three leads. Subsequent to the marriage ceremony, Ram Charan resumed his work on
Naayak in late June 2012, after shooting for a
Tata DoCoMo commercial. The song "Subhalekha Raasukunna" was shot in Iceland on 22 August 2012. It was originally planned to be shot using Ram Charan and Kajal, but it was filmed using Amala Paul instead, as Kajal had a scheduling conflict. After the completion of that song, two more songs were shot using Ram Charan and Kajal. After returning from Iceland, filming continued in the
Old City in Hyderabad. On 7 October 2012, scenes featuring Ram Charan and Amala Paul were shot at the Cineplanet Multiplex near
Kompally. The next part of the schedule started in
Kolkata from 12 October 2012. Some action episodes involving Ram Charan, Dev Gill, and others, and a few continuity scenes were shot. An entire day was spent shooting a few action episodes with Ram Charan at Chhotelal Ghat near the Mullickghat flower market, since Vinayak insisted on perfection. This portion of the schedule ended on 22 October 2012. The team returned to Hyderabad and filming continued in a set erected at
Sarathi Studios. By mid November 2012, a majority of the filming was complete, with final completion expected in December 2012. The last portion of the schedule began on 4 December 2012, during which the remaining climax action episodes scenes and a song were planned to be shot until 18 December 2012. Amala Paul joined the filming of the climax on 7 December 2012, after returning from the sets of
Thalaivaa (2013). The song "Nellorae" was shot using Ram Charan and Charmee at
Ramoji Film City on 24 December 2012, and after its completion, filming came to an end on 29 December 2012. The filming phase lasted for approximately 9 months, and the film was the first Indian film to be shot in
Slovenia. Ram Charan completed his part of
dubbing in late December 2012. == Themes and influences ==