Veteran director SP Muthuraman has collaborated on numerous films with Rajinikanth. He has directed a total of 25 films starring the actor alone. At one point, Rajinikanth typically worked on two or three films per year under Muthuraman’s direction. Due to his consecutive film projects in the 1990s, the crew members in his team were exclusively dedicated to his productions, preventing them from working on other sets. Muthuraman led a group of 14 key members, including cinematographer Vinagam, editor Vittal and make-up artist Mustafa. Additionally, there were assistant, associate and deputy directors in the team.

SP Muthuraman felt concerned about the low payment for the technicians who work on his films. So, he discussed the issue with Rajinikanth and requested him to star in a film for him. This led to the creation of the 1992 movie Pandian.

Pandian was a film made on a very low budget and with limited shooting schedules. Rajinikanth mentioned in an old interview that he acted out of friendship and did not take any salary. In one fight scene, Rajinikanth’s opponent is about to crash into a mirror, but Rajinikanth intervenes, saying, “I have come here to ask for a job. If you break the glass and everything, I won’t get a job. So, I’ll fight, but you should fall without breaking anything.” In the scene, no glass is broken, as director Muthuraman filmed it without damaging any property due to budget constraints. The profits from Pandian were shared among 14 key individuals in the unit, including SP Muthuraman.

Before Pandian, SP Muthuraman had never ventured into film production. The production of Pandian was managed by his mother, who established a production company called Visalam specifically for the film. AVM Saravanan, despite lacking prior production experience, assisted in the production process.

Famous for his collaborations with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, the filmmaker’s ability to explore the diverse dimensions of these superstars and create films across a spectrum of genres is truly captivating. “I used to sit with the scriptwriters and compile a list of the roles Rajini or Kamal had portrayed in other directors’ films as well as mine. Additionally, we noted the genres and themes we had already explored to avoid repetition. This preliminary work allowed us to craft a wide range of content for the audience in a compelling manner”, Muthuraman said in an old interview.