Vignesh Shivan agreed to work on '' Thaanaa Serndha Koottam '' at short notice , after another project , '' Kaathu Vaakkula Rendu Kadhal '' with Vijay Sethupathi became delayed . Studio Green 's K. E. Gnanavel Raja asked Vignesh to do a project to star Suriya and the team chose to use an earlier script planned by Vignesh on the 1987 Opera House heist , like '' Special 26 '' , where a group posing as Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ) officers executed an income tax raid on the jeweller in Mumbai , which he initially wanted to make with either actors Sivakarthikeyan or Vijay Sethupathi . The team claimed to legally purchase the remake rights of '' Special 26 '' , but instead of copying the film scene-by-scene , Vignesh was insistent that it was adapted to make it suitable for Tamil-speaking audiences . The film was announced to the public in September 2016 , with the shoot starting thereafter in October 2016 . Keerthy Suresh was signed on as the lead actress , while an ensemble cast of veteran actors including Ramya Krishnan , Suresh Chandra Menon , Senthil and Sudhakar were also a part of the first schedule
1987 Opera House heist
1987 Opera House heist
Thaanaa Serndha Koottam