In January 2012, Ameer Sultan announced that his assistant Aslam would direct Srikanth, in his debut film Paagan which was claimed to be a comedy. After completing Nanban, Srikanth started working for this film; for the role, he was said to have lost 7 kilos. Janani Iyer of Avan Ivan fame was selected as lead actress while comedians Kovai Sarala, Pandi and Soori were selected to essay supporting roles and comical relief. Filming was held in Tirupur and Pollachi. During a stunt sequence where Srikanth should escape from fire, his rope got cut but he safely landed without hurt. The film was shot with an ARRI 435, ARRI 435X-TREME and Sony F65 camera.
Soundtrack
has composed the soundtrack. Audio was released on 1 September 2012, five days before film's release at Sathyam Cinemas. The song have been written by Na. Muthukumar, Vrikshika, Niranjan Bharathi and Mohanrajan. The song "Poonthendralai" had been sung by Alka Ajith. Furthermore, comedians Paandi and Soori, who acted in this film, had also sung a song. Behindwoods wrote: "The two themes definitely add value to the overall soundtrack which is easy on the ears, save the ‘kuthu’ number. Decent attempt by James Vasanthan". Milliblog wrote: "After his last – Eesan, almost 2 years ago! – James’ music continues to be fickle".
Chennai online reported that the satellite rights of the film were secured by Sun TV but instead it went to Zee Thamizh. The film was given a "U" certificate by the Indian Censor Board. Paagan released on 7 September 2012.
Reception
Paagan opened to mixed reviews from critics. The Times of India's reviewer wrote that the film "promises good fun but sadly, never fulfils it". Sify's critic labelled the film as a "light hearted comedy which could have been better if some care was taken over its script". Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff cited: "Aslam's dialogues, the village milieu and the feel-good mood make for good viewing. But there are moments when the screenplay turns choppy". Deccan Chronicle's reviewer claimed that there was "nothing new by way of script, yet the narrativestyle and humour quotient makes the film worth a watch". A critic from Behindwoods noted that Paagan did not have "much going in its favor and turns out a bland fare". Chennaionline wrote: "Overall movie is good time pass". in.com rated 2.5/5 and wrote that it was "worth a watch".
Box-office
The film took a below average opening and grossed Rs. 15,40,132 in first week.
