[7] Starring Mohanlal and Vijay the film revolves around the conflict between crime boss and his adopted son, a police officer whose life and approach towards law change after a violent incident.

The film co-stars Kajal Aggarwal, Soori, Mahat, Nivetha Thomas, Sampath Raj and Pradeep Rawat.

[8] The film features soundtrack composed by D. Imman, with Ganesh Rajavelu and Don Max handling cinematography and editing respectively.

[15] Shakthi is the adopted son of a Madurai-based crime boss, Sivan and is also his right-hand man, bodyguard and driver.

His hatred is such that he hates the khaki colour (which is worn by police in India), Shakthi doesn't let Sivan's watchman to wear his watchman uniform which is of Khaki colour, constantly teases his friend Gopal, who gets selected as a constable, and even loses romantic interest on a woman named Shanthi after he finds out that she is an Inspector.

Reluctantly taking charge as ACP of Madurai City East, Shakthi gives free rein to Sivan and his henchmen, who wreak havoc over Madurai, until one of their activities inadvertently causes a gas leak which destroys a school and some nearby buildings, killing several people, including women and children.

Shakthi is soon promoted to the rank of DCP for his success in arresting most of Sivan's gang members and beneficiaries within one night.

[17][18] Neason described Jilla as a "Madurai-based movie" and also revealed that right from 2009, he had this story line about two powerful characters and their emotional interaction,[19] making it his second directorial after Muruga (2007).

[42][43] Behindwoods gave 2.75 out of 5 and stated, "The charismatic screen presence of Mohanlal and Vijay, enjoyable musical tracks and comedy scenes and power packed action sequences marks Jilla that satisfies audience.

[42] Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times gave the film 3/5 stars and stated, Mohanlal and "Vijay captivating style and powerful performance makes the movie a solid family entertainer".

[50][51] In Chennai city alone, the film netted ₹3.24 million (US$37,000)in the first week with an average theater occupancy of 97% and stood first for the weekend.

[60] In a meeting with his fans' association at Srikakulam in January 2014, Chiranjeevi announced that he wants V. V. Vinayak to direct the remake of Jilla (2014) starring himself and his son Ram Charan after the 2014 Indian general elections.

[62] Charan felt uncomfortable to reprise a role where he has to oppose his father and being dissatisfied with the story, he dropped the remake's proposal.

[63] In late March 2014, R. T. Neason, the director of the original, wanted to direct the Telugu remake bankrolled by Super Good Films.

Neason wanted Nandamuri Balakrishna and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. to reprise the roles played by Mohanlal and Vijay in the original respectively.

[63] Ravi Teja evinced interest to be a part of the remake and the film's production was expected to begin in April 2015.

[69] However, there were reports stating that Jilla would be dubbed into Telugu with a duration of 140 minutes including a separate comedy track on Brahmanandam with Vijay.

[70] Also, Rama Rao Jr.'s elder brother Nandamuri Kalyan Ram planned to remake Jilla in Telugu with Balakrishna after arranging a special screening for the latter.

Tamatam Kumar Reddy and Prasad Sannidhi of Sri Obuleswara Productions acquired the Telugu dubbing rights while R. B. Chowdary was announced to present the film.