it under his banner V Creations. Although the film was initially titled Maalai Nerathu Mazhaithuli, in December 2011, the new title was revealed: Thuppakki. Instead of his regular editor Anthony and art director Rajeevan, Murugadoss chose A. Sreekar Prasad and Thota Tharani for those positions, respectively. Santosh Sivan was hired as cinematographer. Casting Though Kingfisher Calendar model Angela Jonsson took part in a brief photoshoot with Vijay by Sivan in Chennai, Kajal Aggarwal was eventually confirmed as the female lead. Priya Anand was initialy signed on as the lead actress, but could not commit due to scheduling conflicts with English Vinglish (2013). Akshara Gowda joined the cast for a single scene as she only wanted to "gain the experience of working with Murugadoss". In early 2012, Vidyut Jammwal, who was simultaneously shooting for Billa II, said he would play the main antagonist. Sathyan confirmed his participation in the film in January 2012, and Malayalam actor Jayaram confirmed his presence the following month. In April 2012, Murugadoss confirmed that he himself would appear onscreen. That was eventually revealed to be a cameo in the song "Google Google", where Sivan also cameoed. Dubai-based Malayali orthodontist Prasanth Nair was also signed to play a small but important role of a commando, making it his acting debut in Tamil cinema. Filming Principal photography was initially supposed to start on 26 November 2011, but the first schedule began in January 2012, and lasted for 35 days. At Linking Road in Bandra, Vijay acted and operated the camera himself for one scene with Sivan's assistance, which had to be filmed quickly with the unaware public. Sivan commented that it was shot perfectly and decided to retain it in the film. Sivan further told that a major part of the film was being shot in real locations with hidden cameras. He shot Thuppakki with an Arri Alexa camera, as opposed to traditional 35 mm film. Although Sivan has mostly preferred to shoot on film, he stated that he shot Thuppakki digitally because "the story and milieu of [Murugadoss's] script demanded it". In March, the unit completed a 10-day shoot in Bangkok for "Google Google", picturised on Vijay and Aggarwal. In Mumbai, while Vijay was filming a sequence which involved him jumping from a height, he slipped and injured his knee; he was not wearing a knee-pad at the time. Shooting was stalled following the incident and Vijay