Dhanush's Karnan is not based on the Kodiyankulam caste riots: Mari Selvaraj

National Award-winning actor Dhanush kicked off work on his Karnan under Pariyerum Perumal director Mari Selvaraj being produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu's V Creations banner and wrapped up filming sometime back. Featuring music by Santhosh Narayanan, it took less than two months for the Karnan team to wrap up the shooting in light of the plans to the bring the film out in theatres sometime towards the middle of the year.

Currently in its post-production stages, Karnan has been facing a lot of controversy for a while now after there were reports stating the film was based on the 1995 Kodiyankulam caste riots, which director Mari Selvaraj has now denied to a leading Tamil publication. Controversy erupted after the film's crew were threatened with calls to stop the shooting in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi. Furthermore, the permission for the film's shoot was asked to be canceled by members of the Mukkulathor Pulipadai political party's leader, actor-turned-politician Karunas, who went on to state that the film is being critical on a specific community that could lead to unrest in the region.

Apart from Dhanush, Karnan includes in its cast names like Malayalam actress Rajisha Vijayan as the female lead, popular veteran actor Lal, cinematographer-turned-actor Natarajan aka. Natty, comedian Yogi Babu, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli and 96 fame Gouri G. Kishan in major supporting roles.