The film is based on street cricket played in India, focussing on various themes as friendship, love and rivalry in a suburban area. Following its theatrical release on 27 April 2007, it received critical acclaim and emerged a surprise sleeper hit, running successfully for more than one year in theaters, whilst going on to achieve cult status in the subsequent years. The film's title is derived from the pincode for Mandaveli, a suburb of Chennai, where the story takes place. The success of the film gained the relatively unknown actors – Jai, Shiva, Premji and Nithin Sathya, newcomers Vijayalakshmi, Vijay Vasanth and the director Venkat Prabhu popularity.