Set in the late 18th century during the early stages of the British Raj, the film tells the story of twin brothers separated at birth.

In the South Indian kingdom of Cholapuram Paalayam in the year 1771, Raja Mokkaiyappar and his queen, Rani Bhavani Ammaiyar, are desperate for a child, as all their previous twenty-two children have died at birth.

Before informing the king about the birth, he calls the palace astrologer, Chinnavadayaan, who predicts that the elder twin will be incapable of making decisions on his own while the younger one will be smarter.

Maragathavalli, Kailasakaruppan's childless wife, rescues the abandoned child from the river, and the couple decides to raise him as their own, naming him Ukraputhan.

As the king, Ukraputhan reveals his true identity to Agandamuthu, the commander-in-chief, and joins forces with him to help bring about new reforms.

Feeling guilty for betraying his kingdom, Sangilimayan, at the behest of his sister, has a change of heart and apologizes to her; she forgives him.

The kingdom attains independence from British rule, and Pulikesi and Ukraputhan marry their respective lovers, Soolayini and Vasantha Sundari.

Chimbu Deven worked as a cartoonist in the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan before venturing into mainstream cinema as an associate to director Cheran in three of his films, Vetri Kodi Kattu (2000), Pandavar Bhoomi (2001) and Autograph (2004).

[1] Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei draws inspiration from a cartoon created by Deven, which originally appeared in Ananda Vikatan.

[d] Although Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei is a historical film set in the late 18th century AD, most of the issues it raises are contemporary.

Topics discussed include child labour, globalisation, the bureaucratic inefficiency of government, pesticide usage in soft drinks, and divisions in the caste system.

[1][25][26] In their 2010 book, Cinemas of South India: Culture, Resistance, Ideology under the section Dualities and Negotiation 23rd Imsai Arasan Pulikesi, Sowmya Dechamma C. C., Elavarthi Sathya Prakash and Jananie Kalyanaraman mention the soft drinks that are satirized include Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

[27] They also note that Pulikesi and Ukraputhan have contrasting differences with respect to attitude towards women, education, governance, and demonstration of both skill in weaponry and physical prowess.

[1] Historical references in the film include places like Nalanda University, which was active around the 2nd century AD, and people like Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Robert Clive, and Ettappan.

[34] Praises were directed mainly towards the musicians, the melodious interludes of "Aah Aadivaa" and the fusion of modern western and traditional Indian music in "Vaanam Namakul".

In response, the CBFC cited a rule issued by the Bombay High Court, which noted that it was mandatory for the AWBI to provide an NOC to films which used animals.

[44] A week before the release date, and with the help of Karunanidhi, Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei was cleared by the Central Government.

[48][47] R. B. Choudary's Super Good Films purchased the theatrical rights of the Telugu dubbed version, which was released with the title, Himsinche 23 Va Raju Pulikesi.

Pulakesi II was a famous king who belonged to the Western Chalukya Empire and ruled the Karnataka region in the seventh century.

[51] Sri Lankan Cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan watched the film in Kamala Theatres in Chennai with his family on 11 July 2006.

[55] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar TV,[56] and the worldwide premiere occurred on channel's launch date 15 September 2007.

[57] Critics responded positively to Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi, noting the quality of its story, Vadivelu's performance, its highlighting of contemporary political and social concerns, and the film's art direction, cinematography, and music.

"[26] Film historian Sundararaj Theodore Baskaran described Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei as "a parody with healthy concerns".

[36] Art director Krishnamoorthy performed intense research to create the costumes for the characters and to design the palace sets.

[58] According to Theodore Baskaran, Arthur A. Wilson's cinematography "creates a series of arresting images" which helps facilitate the directorial narrative.

The film's 100th day celebration function was held on 14 October 2006 at the Kalaivanar Arangam located in the Chepauk district of Chennai.

[65][66] Rajinikanth, Vijay, Vivek, Sathyaraj, Prabhu Ganesan, Abirami Ramanathan and directors Lingusamy and Balaji Sakthivel attended the function.

K. Jeshi of The Hindu placed it in a category of films that discuss social issues like Sethu (1999), Kaadhal (2004), Veyil (2006), Mozhi (2007) and Paruthiveeran (2007).

[72] Another critic from The Hindu, Sumit Bhattacharjee, compared it with other period films like The Ten Commandements (1956) Ben-Hur (1959) Titanic (1997), Gladiator (2000), 300 (2007) and Jodhaa Akbar (2008).

Vadivelu signed on to reprise his role as Pulikesi while Chimbu Deven and Shankar were to return as director and producer respectively.