Development {{Multiple images In late November 2021,
Vijay, who had collaborated with director
Atlee for three successful films, was reported to collaborate again with the latter for his 68th film as the lead actor. Marking their collaboration after
Theri (2016),
Mersal (2017), and
Bigil (2019), the production process was set to begin after the director completed his commitments for his debut
Hindi film,
Jawan (2023). In the meantime, Vijay would work on two projects,
Varisu and
Leo (both 2023). On 24 December,
Yuvan Shankar Raja, through
X, posted a picture of himself and Vijay, which was speculated to hint a reunion in the near future after
Pudhiya Geethai (2003). Reports of the collaboration between Vijay and Atlee continued throughout 2022. That December, it was reported that filming was set to commence in June 2023, as Atlee by then had completed
Jawan, as the initial film's release date was 2 June 2023; but was postponed. The following May, however, Atlee was confirmed not to direct the project, as he had signed another Hindi film, which became
Baby John (2024). Vijay had reportedly listened to multiple scripts, which included from directors
Venkat Prabhu and
Gopichand Malineni. On 21 May, Vijay, through his social media pages, announced that his 68th film would be helmed by Prabhu, tentatively titled
Thalapathy 68.
AGS Entertainment would produce the film, while Archana Kalpathi and Aishwarya Kalapathi served as creative producers. It is the production house's most expensive and 25th film production. The film was made on a budget of 400 crore, with Vijay having received a remuneration of making him the highest-paid actor in India. In August 2023, the team left for Los Angeles to use visual effects scanning to create the look of one of Vijay's characters; this technique was previously used for
Fan (2016). The film's official title,
The Greatest of All Time, was announced on 31 December 2023. Prabhu later revealed that he wanted to title the film
Gandhi, which remained the lead character's name.
Pre-production Prabhu had met Vijay ten months prior to the announcement and narrated a one-liner, which the latter requested to develop. After completing the development in early-May 2023, Prabhu met Vijay again later that month and narrated the script. Vijay then approved of the script and finalised him. Prabhu co-wrote the film's script dialogues with
Viji, with additional screenplay written by K. Chandru and Ezhilarasu Gunasekaran. A
muhurat puja was held on 2 October 2023 at
Prasad Labs in
Chennai with the film's cast and crew. The same month,
Siddhartha Nuni was announced as cinematographer, in his third Tamil film after
Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu (2022) and
Captain Miller (2024), marking his first film with Vijay and Prabhu. Yuvan Shankar Raja was confirmed to score the music, in his third consecutive film with the director after they had done a total of ten films. The technical crew includes cinematographer
Siddhartha Nuni, editor Venkat Raajen, production designer Rajeevan Nanbiyar, stunt choreographer
Dhilip Subbarayan, art directors Sekar and Surya Rajeevan, costume designers
Vasuki Bhaskar and Pallavi Singh.
Casting Vijay plays dual roles as an elderly and younger character.
De-aging technology was utilised to portray the younger version. Initially, Prabhu's choices for the roles included
Rajinikanth as the older character and
Dhanush as the younger one.
Meenakshi Chaudhary and
Sneha was cast as female leads, with Chaudhary paired opposite the younger Vijay, while Sneha reunited with Vijay after working with him in
Vaseegara (2003).
Prabhu Deva joined the cast in a significant role, marking his first acting collaboration with Vijay after directing him in two films, whilst
Prashanth was cast further in an important role.
Laila,
Vaibhav,
Mohan,
Jayaram, and
Ajmal Ameer,
Yogi Babu,
VTV Ganesh, Prabhu's frequent collaborators
Premgi Amaren, and
Ajay Raj were announced to play prominent roles. With Babu and Ganesh making their first collaboration with Prabhu, all of their inclusion was confirmed during their presence at the muhurat puja.
R. Madhavan and
Arvind Swamy were the original choices for Mohan's role, and
Nayanthara for Sneha's.
Parvati Nair revealed that she was a part of the cast in January 2024.
Yugendran was present at the film's preliminary shooting, confirming his presence; he would act with Vijay after
Thirupaachi (2005).
Premalatha, the wife of late
Vijayakanth, confirmed that the latter would be featured in a scene for the film with the use of
artificial intelligence (AI).
Y. G. Mahendran stated that he would also make a cameo appearance, during an interview with
Filmibeat. Ayaz Khan portrayed the teenage version of Vijay's younger character Jeevan, with his face
digitally morphed to resemble Vijay.
Filming {{Multiple images
Principal photography began with the first schedule on 3 October 2023 at Prasad Labs in Chennai. A song sequence, choreographed by
Raju Sundaram and picturised on Vijay, Prashanth, Deva and Ajmal, was firstly filmed. Reportedly, the makers used AI for the sequence which concluded by 9 October. The second schedule commenced in
Thailand on 30 October, with Vijay joining them on 3 November. The team shot mostly at
Bangkok in this schedule. Within ten days of filming, Vijay completed filming his portions for the schedule and returned to Chennai; the makers stayed in Thailand and filmed portions not involving the actor. A minor portion was shot soon after at Prasad Labs in late November, before they moved to a film city in
Hyderabad. Prabhu had reportedly united a major cast to film important sequences before the schedule ended by 27 December. Filming resumed in
Sri Lanka on 7 January 2024, following a hiatus for the New Year's. On 2 February, Vijay announced his retirement from films after completing one more film and his entry into politics, making this his penultimate film. By then, filming was halfway complete. Siddhartha Nuni had used three cameras to shoot a significant sequence; something he had never done before. A minor schedule began in
Pondicherry on 5 February. A footage of Vijay, Prashanth and Deva was leaked during this schedule and went viral on social media platforms. This led the film's official technology security partner to warn social media users from sharing the leaked content and that the leaks would be deleted. In early March, it was reported that an item number featuring
Sreeleela was decided, however, she declined the offer. Later
Trisha Krishnan has replaced her and her portion of Matta song was shot in Chennai. The makers had initially decided to shoot the following schedule in
Morocco; however, the filming locations were instead finalised in
Kerala. The schedule there was intended to begin on 16 March, but commenced two days later. After
Kaavalan (2011), Vijay would make his return to Kerala for filming with this film. Therefore, his fans gathered in front of the airport where the actor would land. A crowd was gathered from 11am to 5pm. The schedule began filming in
Greenfield International Stadium in
Thiruvananthapuram. A sequence featuring at least 3000 background artists was reportedly filmed inside of the stadium. On the day after, the actor arranged an outside gathering there with his fans. As his usual trademark, he took a video and posted it on his social media pages. Filming for the scheduled portions was completed by 23 March. On 7 April, the makers flew to
Moscow in
Russia for the following schedule. The sequence filmed at the beginning of the schedule was reported to be filmed at a school campus. A chase sequence was filmed in the schedule. Vijay returned to Chennai on 18 April to cast his vote in the
2024 Lok Sabha elections. The actor received an injury during filming before flying back. In mid-May, the makers were reportedly spotted on their way to the United States to resume the filming. In late May, some sequences involving explosives were filmed in and around
Puducherry, including
Beach Road and Old Port. Shortly thereafter, Prabhu returned to
Sri Lanka for additional shoots, albeit without Vijay, that schedule was completed in early June. Principal photography
wrapped by late-June. The makers, including Vijay, then shortly after reunited to shoot a few pending patchworks. Patchworks continued to be shot at Sree Gokulam Studios in Chennai for two days.
Post-production In March 2024, Venkat Prabhu confirmed that VFX and CGI works had begun, simultaneously with filming, in
Chennai and
Los Angeles. He further added that five companies would do the effects works. Vijay began dubbing his portions in mid May and completed 50% by 14 May. The de-aging works would be mostly handled by
Lola Visual Effects. The company began their works on 16 May, which were completed within two days. Initially, the film was planned to be released in June, coinciding with Vijay's 50th birthday; however, it was delayed due to the extensive post-production and VFX works. == Music ==