[citation needed] In the film, Lingaa, a petty thief, arrives at Solaiyur to save the village's dam and temple, which was built by his grandfather Raja Lingeswaran.

[6] The film received mixed reviews from critics with praise for Rajinikanth’s performances, cinematography, action sequences and music, but criticised its script, climax and length.

Karunakara firmly believes that only the descendant of Raja Lingeswaran, the noble builder of the dam, can open the temple.

Lakshmi's search leads her to Lingaa, a witty and cunning thief; he hates his grandfather for leaving his family penniless.

Karunakara reveals the true history of Raja Lingeswaran, A government officer, a freedom fighter and his man start getting killed in a train.

When the villagers found out the truth, they tried to bring Lingeswaran home, but he refused, saying he was satisfied that his work on the dam would last forever.

Now desperate, Nagabooshan kidnaps Lakshmi and takes off in a hot air balloon rigged with a bomb to destroy the dam.

The script as well as screenplay for Lingaa were penned by Pon Kumaran, who had registered the story with the South Indian Film Writers' Association under the title King Khan in 2010.

[citation needed] Samjith Mhd, who had worked with Ravikumar earlier in Policegiri (2013), was confirmed as the film's editor.

[citation needed] During the audio launch of the film's soundtrack album, Ravikumar said the title Lingaa was suggested to him by Rajinikanth.

[15] In April 2014, Shriya Saran and Samantha Ruth Prabhu were selected to play the role of Lakshmi and Bharathi.

[20] Further, reports circulated again in August 2014 which strongly suggested Sudeep was a part of the cast as he was seen during the canning of the climax portions but he clarified that he wasn't offered a role in the film yet.

[23] American actor, director and writer William Orendorff was selected to play a key role in the film and furthermore, confirming his involvement in the project through Twitter.

[25] Sonakshi Sinha, in an interview with Mumbai Mirror, said that there are two different tracks of filming scenes, and that Anushka Shetty and her will not share much screen space and was given liberty to pick up the role she felt suitable for her.

[29] Actresses Trisha Krishnan and Nayanthara were rumored to perform an item number, but the latter's inclusion remained unconfirmed and the former denied the news saying that she was never approached.

[37] The film crew shot in various locations in Karnataka like Melukote, Manuvana, Pandavapura, Chamundi Hills and inside the residential portion of Mysore Palace.

[40] On 18 May 2014, Rajinikanth and Sonakshi Sinha shot some scenes dating back to the British era in front of the illuminated residential portion of the palace.

[41] The team then moved to Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad for a two-month schedule, where sequences featuring the entire cast were shot for 50 days.

[citation needed] Filming then moved to Thirthahalli and the Jog Falls, where some important scenes were canned for twenty-five days.

[citation needed] For the film's climax, a big statue of Lord Shiva and dam both as set were constructed next to the Jog water-falls.

[51][52] Ravikumar stated that the climax scene, which involved a hot air balloon, was inspired by a sequence Armour of God (1986).

[57] Regarding the same issue, officials of the Karnataka State Police Board also sent a letter to the Chief Minister asking him to end the shooting of the portions of the film there, citing that the bio-diversity and life in and around the dam would be affected.

[61] The Telugu version was released on 8 November 2014, at a curtain raiser, event held at Hyderabad, where Chiranjeevi and K. Viswanath attended as the chief guest.

[68][69] Eros International had bought the film from Rockline Venkatesh for approximately ₹135 crore (US$16 million), which includes theatrical, overseas distribution and music rights for all languages.

[citation needed] M Suganth of The Times of India gave 2.5 out of 5 and wrote, "The scale of the production, some of Santhanam's one-liners and the charisma of Rajinikanth somewhat make it bearable but they aren't enough.

Ravi Rathinam of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board colony who claimed that script of Lingaa was actually the one he had written for directing a film titled Mullai Vanam 999 based on the construction of the Mullaperiyar dam by John Pennycuick.

Justice Venugopal claimed the dispute to be private and it could have been solved only by initiating civil or criminal proceedings and not by invoking the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.

[citation needed] The distributors of Tamil Nadu suffered large losses and asked for their money back.

[84] A distributor under the banner Marina stated that it suffered losses in Trichy and Thanjavur areas and submitted a petition to go on a hunger strike.

He decided to pay them ₹10 crore (US$1.2 million) 'on a humanitarian basis', who demanded a full refund and had threatened a 'begging protest' in front of the actor's residence.