Jointly produced by Escape Artists Motion Pictures and GLO Studios, the film stars S. J. Suryah, Nandita Swetha, and Regina Cassandra.
Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the film score and soundtrack, with cinematography and editing handled respectively by Arvind Krishna and Prasanna GK.
Nenjam Marappathillai began production in January 2016 and was completed in June 2016, but remained unreleased for several years, because of various consecutive issues, the first of which was the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax.
After a long period of delays, it was released on 5 March 2021 and received mixed reviews from critics with praise for the performances, originality and soundtrack but criticised the climax and predictability.
Rishi takes an instant liking to Mariam, and her tenderness with the boy contrasts with the coldness she receives from Ramsay and his wife.
One night, Ramsay cleverly plots a scheme, and sends Swetha out of town for a board meeting, and sexually assaults Mariam along with the male servants.
In December 2015, IANS reported that Gautham Vasudev Menon would be collaborating with Selvaraghavan to produce a horror film under his production house Ondraga Entertainment.
[8] Selvaraghavan's regular collaborator Arvind Krishna joined as the cinematographer, while editor Prasanna GK and art director Vijay Adhinathan were also included.
[6] The film was initially planned to be shot within a single schedule, which was to be completed in March 2016, however principal photography wrapped on 30 June 2016.
[9] The film marks Selvaraghavan's reunion with Yuvan after a hiatus of 8 years since they worked together on their last project Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008).
[15] The song "En Pondati Oorukku Poita" is titled after a line spoken by Janagaraj's character in Agni Natchathiram (1988).
[17] Nenjam Marappathillai was initially scheduled to release on 30 June 2017, but was postponed indefinitely due to the introduction of Goods and Services Tax by the Central Government.
He concluded, "Nenjam Marappathillai—propelled by a grand Yuvan Shankar Raja score that matches the director's intensity and eccentricity—is the best thing Selvaraghavan has made in ages.
"[30] Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times wrote, "What's refreshing about Nenjam Marappathillai is that it is devoid of all the usual stereotypes one could associate with horror movies.
"[33] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express also rated it 3 stars out of 5, saying, "Nenjam Marappathillai is what a director might find when he goes to the shooting with a vow to not follow the script.
Instead, he rolls up his sleeves, and goes to work with his crew, determined to create something more wonderful, and tangible than what his mind imagined in the writer's room.