Cast

Credited cast:
	Rajinikanth	...	Rajinikanth
	Sonakshi Sinha	...	Sonakshi Sinha
	Anushka Shetty	...	Anushka Shetty
	Santhanam	...	Santhanam
	Karunakaran	...	Karunakaran
	Jagapati Babu	...	Jagapati Babu
	Dev Gill	...	Dev Gill
	Radha Ravi	...	Radha Ravi
	Vijayakumar	...	Vijayakumar
	R. Sundarrajan	...	R. Sundarrajan
	Manobala	...	Manobala
	Prabhu	...	Prabhu
	Ravi Mariya	...

Storyline

On 28 April 2014, rumours suggested that the film would be titled Lingaa, which is also the name of Rajinikanth's second grandson. The following day, Ravikumar stated on Facebook that filming would commence soon. Ravikumar's assistant Pon Kumaran provided the script for the film. Rockline Venkatesh was announced as producer making it his third venture in Tamil after Dum (2003) and Majaa (2005). A. R. Rahman was confirmed as the music composer for the film. R. Rathnavelu was later confirmed as the cinematographer. Sabu Cyril was confirmed to handle the art direction for the film. Samjith Mhd, who had worked with Ravikumar earlier in Policegiri (2013), was confirmed as the film's editor. Lee whittaker was confirmed to handle the stunt sequences.


After Rajinikanth was hospitalised in 2011, his daughter, Soundarya R. Ashwin, stated that her father would continue his career. Sonakshi Sinha had confirmed her involvement in the project via a television interview stating that filming would commence in May 2014, and that she would play a village girl who helps Rajinikanth's character in the film. In late April 2014, Telugu actor Jagapati Babu confirmed on his Facebook page that he was signed on for a role in the film. Sudeep was reported to have refused an important role in the film, but he however denied being approached for the film in the first place. Rumors again arose that Sudeep was part of the cast as he was seen during the shooting of the climax portions, but he clarified that he wasn't offered a role in the film yet. Comedian Santhanam joined the team and confirmed his presence in the film through Twitter. Actors Radha Ravi, Vijayakumar and R. Sundarrajan were called up to play important roles in the film. British actress Lauren J. Irwin was selected to appear in the pre-independence portions of the film. American actor, director and writer William Orendorff was selected to play a key role in the film and furthermore, he confirmed the news on Twitter himself. Anushka Shetty joined the unit for shooting her portions in the film on 27 June 2014. Actor Karunakaran was selected to play a supporting role. Additionally, actor Dev Gill of Maghadheera (2009) fame, was selected to play a secondary antagonist role. Director and comedian Manobala confirmed that he would appear in a small but significant role as a train driver. Actor Prabhu Ganesan will do a cameo appearance in the film. It was reported that actress Trisha Krishnan had refused to do an item number in the film but she denied them as rumours saying that she had not been approached for the film at all. It was earlier speculated that actress Nayanthara would do an item number, but her inclusion remained officially unconfirmed.


After the release of Kochadaiiyaan (2014), it was reported that Rajinikanth had begun shooting for his next film Lingaa. Principal photography commenced on 1 May 2014 in Mysore, Karnataka, India, with a customary Puja ceremony on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Rajinikanth and Sonakshi Sinha took part in the shoot. Kannada actor Ambareesh and his wife, actress Sumalatha Ambareesh, attended the launch. The muhurat shot of the movie was filmed in May 2014 at the Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore[ Cinematographer R. Rathnavelu revealed that the film would be shot using a Red Dragon 6K camera. In addition to this camera, the Phantom Flex 4K camera was used for the action sequences in the film. The film crew shot in various locations in Karnataka like Melukote, Manuvana, Pandavapura, Chamundi Hills and the residential portion of Mysore Palace. On 10 May 2014, Sonakshi had completed her portions for the first schedule of the film's shooting. On 18 May 2014, Rajinikanth and Anushka Shetty shot some scenes dating back to the British era in front of the illuminated residential portion of the palace. Horses were used for the shot. Over 50 policemen and 30 bouncers had been deployed to prevent people from getting near the shooting area in Mysore.


The team then moved to Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad for a 2 month schedule, where sequences featuring the entire cast were shot for 50 days. Also a song sequence featuring Rajinikanth and Anushka was shot at Annapurna Studios, where the production team designed a huge set for the song and finished shooting the song in a couple of days. On 13 July 2014, actress Sonakshi Sinha completed her filming schedule in Hyderabad. The Hyderabad schedule ended on 30 July 2014.During the Hyderabad schedule of the film, news circulated that Rajinikanth fainted on the sets while a high-octane stunt sequence was being canned with Rajinikanth performing the stunts himself, but Ravikumar denied them as rumors, citing that the actor was healthy. Speculations also arose that Rajinikanth might play a diamond thief in the film.


In early August 2014, the team then shot some scenes near the Radisson Hotel in Chennai, with Anushka in the frame. In mid-August 2014, the production unit confirmed that 80% of the filming was completed, and that the team would then shot some important scenes for 25 days in Thirthahalli and also at the Jog Falls, which are located in the Shimoga district of Karnataka, including the film's climax for which a big statue of Lord Shiva and a big dam set were constructed next to the Jog waterfalls. A team of over 100 policemen headed by Jog Inspector Keerthi Kumar and also 50 private security staff were reported to be guarding the shooting site at Shimoga.Shooting also took place at the Linganamakki Dam near Kargal in Sagar Taluk.Rajinikanth was seen sporting a look similar to his look in Baashha (1995), on the sets of the film. The cilmax reportedly costed INR1 crore (US$170,000). Reports confirmed that Rajinikanth would be playing a district collector and an unknown role in a flashback sequence in the film.


During the Hyderabad schedule of the film, some villagers of Anajpur village in Rangareddy district in Telangana had tried to stop the shooting of Lingaa, stating that some chemicals were mixed in the nearby lake during shoots and the water became polluted due to that. But the crew members stated that they had sought the permission of the irrigation department and the village Panchayat to shoot there. The crew members also dismissed allegations of chemicals in the lake. During the shooting of the climax portions near the Linganamakki Dam, environmentalist organisations opposed the permission granted to the production unit for shooting near the dam as it might prove a threat for the sensitive location in terms of environmental damage and security reasons. The organisations also had sent a petition to both the Deputy Collector's office, and the Deputy Commissioner's office, who in turn, sent the petition to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, for perusal. Regarding the issue, officials of the Karnataka State Police Board also sent a letter to the Chief Minister asking him to end the shooting of the portions of the film there, citing that the the bio-diversity and life in and around the dam would be affected.


Earlier, the film was expected to be a Diwali release. But the makers confirmed that the film would be released on 12 December 2014, coinciding with Rajinikanth's birthday, which Rajinikanth also confirmed.


Trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai confirmed on his Twitter page that the first look poster of the film would be released on Ganesh Chaturthi (29 August 2014). It was later confirmed that the film would have a motion poster. It released at exactly midnight IST to positive response and immdiately trended on Facebook and Twitter following its release. The poster featured Rajinikanth walking in his trademark style in a much younger avatar and also a temple is present in the poster's backdrop.   

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