 Abbas was cast as Chandru.The characterisation of the older Padayappa — bearded, with sunglasses — is based on Rajinikanth's look as the character Manik Baashha in "Baashha" (1995).Vijayakumar was the initial choice before Sivaji Ganesan was cast as Padayappa's father; "Padayappa" was his penultimate release before "Pooparika Varugirom" (1999).