[2][3] The story is about Arul (Vijay Antony), a billionaire businessman who leads a 48-day long secret life as a beggar as part of a religious offering to save his hopeless dying mother.

Arul travels to Chennai and joins other beggars at a temple, and starts begging, where he comes across Magizhini and falls in love with her seeing her charitable personality.

Sasi began the production of Pichaikkaran in October 2014, and signed on Vijay Antony to feature in the lead role.

[2] The team shot a schedule in Pollachi near Everwin Spinning Mills near Achipatty village in January 2015, before moving to Puducherry by June 2015.

[6][7] The film's soundtrack album and background score were composed by Vijay Antony in his second collaboration with Sasi after Dishyum.

[8] Rediff wrote, "Sasi's Pichaikkaran may have overdosed on action and sentiment but the director manages to portray life from the other side.

[10] Hindustan Times wrote, "One of the biggest drawbacks of many Indian movies is its lethargic attitude towards perfecting a script – not drawing the line from one point to another with any fair degree of conviction.

[12] Behindwoods gave 3.25 out of 5 and wrote "Excessive exaggerations and lack of depth in the dealing make Pichaikkaran not an easy affair".

[13] Indiaglitz gave 3.8 out of 5 stars and wrote "[It] makes the right impact as a wholesome entertainer with emotional scenes as his strong base".

The lyric implied that doctors from SC/ST and backward communities, who had gained medical seats through the quota system, were prioritizing money over patient care.

In response to the protests, the filmmakers agreed to alter the offending line to avoid further conflict and ensure the film's smooth release.