Neela, the wife of Velu, was played by Saranya, who made her debut in the film. The character was created by Srinivasan to reduce the violent content and help the film cater to family audiences. Ratnam wanted a "new face" to portray Neela as he felt only then the character would have the required zest and gusto. Saranya sent her photograph to Ratnam to audition for the role. She was later cast after a successful screen test. Saranya's father was against her being cast, but she and her mother managed to convince him. Though Ratnam has stated that Saranya was "the first and only person we saw for the role", Debashree Roy claimed that she was approached, but refused as she considered that speaking in Tamil would be difficult for her.