In May 2024, shortly after Silambarasan's involvement in the film was confirmed, producer Ishari K. Ganesh called for his removal, claiming the Tamil Film Producers Council had issued an active "red card" that barred the actor from taking on new projects. Silambarasan, however, denied having been issued a red card.
(2015) In June 2015 Kamal Haasan revealed he was reviving the film Thalaivan Irukkiraan and that Saif Ali Khan would co-star in a principal role. The title chosen was "Amar Hai". In association with Hindi producers Virender K. Arora and Arjun N. Kapoor, Kamal Haasan described the project as a "contemporary story which would touch upon politics, finance and the underworld" and "an action film with lots of emotion", likening it to Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987). He added that the film would be shot in Mumbai and Delhi in India, with filming schedules also planned in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, and that he would complete the scripting after finishing work on Thoongaa Vanam (2015). Despite these announcements, the producers pulled out and the film was once again shelved. After another two years of inactivity, in July 2017 Kamal Haasan indicated he would revive the project following the release of Vishwaroopam 2 (2018) and Sabaash Naidu. After a further period of silence, during which Kamal Haasan even said he would stop acting, it was announced in July 2019 that composer A. R. Rahman and studio Lyca Productions had come on board. Later, Kamal admitted in an interview that the previously planned Hindi version "Amar Hain" became the first draft of the script for his film with Mani Ratnam, "Thug Life".
