Casting of Mankatha

 

The film is supposed to be a "multi-starrer", with many leading South Indian actors expected to appear in this film, which is a rare occurrence and would be the first of its kind in the Tamil film industry.Telugu actor Nagarjuna and Ganesh Venkatraman were approached to essay other lead roles alongside Ajith Kumar, with the former being initially confirmed by the director during the launch of the film. In November 2010, however, Arjun replaced Nagarjuna, who was reportedly not interested in the project and had pulled out. Mohan Babu's son, Manoj Manchu and Venkat Prabhu's younger brother, Premji Amaren, who had been part of all his brothers' films, were also considered for roles in the film, with Premji also being confirmed to be part of the cast,while a newcomer Mahat Raghavendra, a childhood friend of producer Dhayanidhi Alagiri, would play another important role. Manoj Manchu, however, couldn't take the offer due to a shoulder injury and was eventually replaced by Vaibhav Reddy, starring in the third consecutive Venkat Prabhu film.Reports claimed that Venkat Prabhu himself would also enact a pivotal role in the film.

For the lead female roles, Samantha Ruth Prabhu,[17] and Anushka Shetty were initially approached,[18][19] while in July 2010 then, according to reports, Neetu Chandra[20][21] and Lakshmi Rai were supposedly signed for the roles.[22][23] However, sources revealed that Neetu Chandra was not part of the project,[24] refusing the project due to unavailability of dates,[25] and instead Trisha Krishnan had bagged the lead female role eventually, making it her third film with Ajith Kumar,[26] with Lakshmi Rai being confirmed later, who was signed to play an important and "lengthy role".[27] Earlier, reports suggested that Sri Lankan model and actress Jacqueline Fernandez was also roped in for a guest role.[28] In November 2010, Sneha, too, was added to the cast, who previously had starred in Venkat Prabhu's Goa as well, and would be paired with Arjun.[29] Other additions to the cast in the following months include Subbu Panchu, who rose to fame with his appearance in Boss Engira Bhaskaran and would essay a police officer character,[30] a newcomer Ashwin Kakumanu, who previously was seen in Nadunisi Naaygal and 7aam Arivu,[31] character actor Jayaprakash, enacting the father character of Trisha,[32] and Anjali, playing Vaibhav's pair.[33]

Venkat Prabhu renewed his previous associations with his cousin Yuvan Shankar Raja, for the background score and soundtrack of Mankatha,[34] Sakthi Saravanan, who would handle the cinematography, and K. L. Praveen, who along with N. B. Srikanth, would take care of the editing.[35] Vasuki Bhaskar and Kalyan remained the costume designer and the main choreographer, respectively, with Shoby joining the latter for a couple of songs, while Selva was assigned as the stunt coordinator.