[13] It was during the making of Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam where Vetrimaaran became acquainted with the lead actor of the film, Dhanush.

The film's story was inspired partly by the lost bike of his friend Andrew and the variety of experiences he had tracking down his vehicle.

Vetrimaaran revealed that when he wrote the script, he made many changes to suit the visual medium and for Dhanush on his physical attributes while playing an action hero.

[17][18] Following the success of Polladhavan, the entire team of that film (Vetrimaaran, actors Dhanush and Kishore, producer Kathiresan, and composer G. V. Prakash Kumar) collaborated once again for Aadukalam (2011), which deals with the rivalry between cockfighters in Madurai.

[19] During the pre-production and scripting, Vetrimaaran spent two years in Madurai to understand the local dialect and lifestyle of the people living there.

[22] The film languished in production hell for two years due to constant changing in cast, crew and location, but Vetrimaaran, Dhanush, Kishore, Kathiresan and Prakash Kumar remained on.

The film deals with the lives of a few Tamil laborers subject to horrific atrocities committed by the police from which they are unable to escape.

Though he had dubbed for Kishore in Aadukalam, Samuthirakani made this film his maiden acting collaboration with Vetrimaaran, portraying as a hard-nosed yet sympathetic police inspector, while Telugu film actor Ajay Ghosh made his breakthrough as a Telugu soft-spoken yet "villainous" inspector in Guntur.

"[33] Visaranai was India's official entry in the Foreign Language film category at the 2017 Academy Awards, but failed to get nominated.

[35][36][37] His fourth directorial venture which he had been preparing for since 2009, Vada Chennai saw him reunite with Dhanush, Samuthirakani, Kishore, Daniel Balaji, Pawan, cinematographer Velraj, art director Jacki, and editor G. B. Venkatesh.

Like Aadukalam, the film went through production and development hell over a period of nine years with huge changes in cast and crew and much scouting and research, yet Vetrimaaran made sure it was not shelved.

"[43] Sowmya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute wrote "From the colourful curses of the street to each of the characters, the film gives us a very real glimpse of gang wars.

"[44] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "Dhanush's ascent to stardom has come alongside his growth as an actor, and there’s not one scene where he makes us doubt his character's actions.

"[45] Vada Chennai earned ₹50 crore (US$5.8 million) at the worldwide box office, and Dhanush received numerous accolades for his role.

[46] Producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu signed Vetrimaaran and Dhanush to a new film, Asuran which saw the duo reunite with music director G. V. Prakash Kumar, cinematographer Velraj and actors Naren, Pawan and Munnar Ramesh (who has featured in all of Vetrimaaran's feature films from Polladhavan onwards).

The Times of India, rated 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "Vetri Maaran delivers yet another solid action drama that keeps us engrossed from start to finish.

[55] Vetrimaaran wrote and directed a segment, Oor Iravu, for the anthology, Paava Kadhaigal (2020), starring Sai Pallavi and Prakash Raj.

[56] "Oor Iravu" received positive acclaim with Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion writing, "Vetri Maaran’s is the most powerful, most gut-churning installment.

The house becomes a character of its own, with its clearly established geography...It may seem strange to say this, given Vetri Maaran’s terrific run of films, but Oor Iravu is his best-directed work.