Eli, set in the 1960s, focuses on a small-time thief who is recruited by the police to infiltrate a gang in an effort to thwart an illegal cigarette smuggling scheme.

[2] In 1960s, Chennai (Madras then), a police officer and a social worker give speech about ban of cigarettes in All India Radio.

They were thieves and led by Elisamy alias Eli, a petty thief (who once aspired to become a police officer), who pretends to be a captured-thief who has sold all his robbery items to a jewellery shop owner.

When the police officer meets Rangarajan on the way he is shocked to find that he had been tricked and Eli had looted the house.

[6] Principal photography commenced with the filming of a song sequence on the outskirts of the city,[7] from the same day as the first look poster was released.

[11] During the audio launch, Vadivelu revealed that the Hindi song "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" from Aradhana (1969) would be reused in the film and that the sequence would feature himself and Sadha.

"[17] The Times of India's M. Suganth gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, describing it as "overlong, dull and largely unfunny" and adding, "Yuvaraj Dhayalan, seems to be after a spoof of spy movies but the filmmaking has no comic rhythm and the script, which rehashes elements from movies as varied as Ragasiya Police 115 and The Departed, is too slack that scenes just go on for ever".

[18] The New Indian Express wrote, "An insipid screenplay and flat narration ensures that it would be the most tedious and boring 154 minutes one could have spent in a theatre...the film is a test of patience".