left to London to undergo treatment. One of the film's songs was shot atop of a train, along with 300 dancers constructed by art director Sunil Babu. The dance sequence, choreographed by Shobi, was shot in the Mumbai–Pune Expressway. Another song, "Vennilave" was shot in Switzerland; since Sivan was unable to give dates, Natarajan "Natty" Subramaniam shot it instead. The song "Antarctica" was shot at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, with which principal photography wrapped. The budget of the film was estimated to be . Music Harris Jayaraj composed the soundtrack of Thuppakki, collaborating with Murugadoss for the third time after Ghajini (2005) and 7aum Arivu (2011). The lyrics were written by Na. Muthukumar, Pa. Vijay, Viveka and Madhan Karky, who had written over 35 pallavis for one of the songs, with one being finalised. The party number "Google Google", a duet between Andrea Jeremiah and Vijay, marked the latter's return to playback singing after a seven-year sabbatical; his last song was "Vaadi Vaadi" from Sachein (2005). Though Harris Jayaraj had announced in August that Thuppakkis audio launch would take place in September, the audio was eventually released on 10 October 2012. Release Thuppakki was earlier scheduled to be released on 9 November 2012, receiving U/A certificate. However after minor cuts from the Central Board of Film Certification the film received a 'U' certificate. The makers opted for a traditional Friday release, since the date appears four days ahead of Diwali, which falls on 13 November, a Tuesday. However, the makers reconsidered their decision and pushed the release coinciding towards the festival. Thuppakki released along with Silambarasan's Podaa Podi and Shah Rukh Khan's Jab Tak Hai Jaan. The film released in more than 1500 screens, becoming the widest release for a Vijay film at that time. Post release, Islamic fringe groups protested against the film and its makers, claiming that it portrayed Muslims as terrorists and traitors. Some of the activists gathered near Vijay's residence at Neelankarai on 14 November 2012, a day after its release, and raised slogans against him and the film in Arabic and Urdu. Later, Murugadoss, S. Thanu and S. A. Chandrasekhar later apologised openly to representatives of 23 different Muslim outfits, and agreed to delete the scenes to which objections were raised. Distribution Gemini Film Circuit distributed the original Tamil version. Several distributors including Bellamkonda Suresh, Geetha Films, Suresh Films and SVR Media competed for