the film. Later it was reported that not only Mahesh Bhatt, but Karan Johar, Anurag Basu, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Rajkumar Hirani, Gauri Shinde, along with lyricist Javed Akhtar and producers Boney Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor would do cameos in the film. Actress Abhinaya of Nadodigal (2009) fame was selected to play a crucial role in the film. Actress Rekha was selected to play a supporting role. Vandita Shrivastava, an MBA-turned-actress, stated that she had a role in the film. Filming Principal photography commenced in February 2014 in Igatpuri. Amitabh Bachchan began shooting for his portions in the film in April 2014. Shamitabh became the first Bollywood film to be shot in the Lapland region of Finland and in Helsinki. The crew shot some scenes at the Seven Hills Hospital, the same place where Bachchan underwent two abdominal surgeries and saw the birth of Aaradhya, his granddaughter. Some scenes were also shot in London. The team took a break in mid-July 2014 to celebrate Dhanush's birthday and the success of his 25th film, Velaiyilla Pattathari (2014). In mid-August 2014, Amitabh Bachchan stated that he had completed his portions for the film, whilst also confirming that 90% percent of the film's shooting had been completed. Dhanush reportedly did a few dastardly stunts in the film. The film's cinematographer P. C. Sreeram was fascinated by Akshara's acting capability and lack of nervousness while shooting with Dhanush and Bachchan and lauded her as a "woman of substance". Akshara did her own choreography for her dance. Soundtrack The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Illaiyaraaja began work for the film's songs on 6 January 2014 in Mumbai. Bachchan had lent his voice to a song in the film. The song "Stereophonic Sannata" was reused from the song "Aasaiya Kaathula" from the Tamil movie Johnny. Promotion and release The film released worldwide on 6 February 2015. The first look of the lead actors Bachchan and Dhanush were released on 23 July 2014, and 25 July 2014, respectively. A video trailer of Bachchan sitting in a toilet and singing "piddly si baatein", a catchy, peppy song while holding the script, was released on 31 December 2014. An extended version of the trailer was released on 2 January 2015. Bachchan had been reportedly seen sporting a rugged look and wearing shabby clothes, Bachchan found the look quite difficult to preserve throughout the shooting of the