Although the film was low-budget, it received critical acclaim for its original script, expert direction, screenplay, editing, fresh music, accurate sets, and costumes to resurrect Madurai from the 1980s.

Past: Azhagar, Paraman, Kasi, Dopa, and Dumka, a polio-stricken, physically challenged person, are part of a set of unemployed close friends.

They pass their time drinking liquor and fooling around on the streets opposite the house of an ex-councillor Somu and his brother Kanugu.

The second half begins with the cops discovering that Paraman and Azhagu have committed the murder with the help of the cycle they left behind.

But they come in for a rude shock when they learn through Kasi that Somu has been selected for the district chief of party post and is avoiding their contact.

To save his life from the clutches of these buddies, Kanugu sets a trap for Azhagar using Thulasi as bait and kills him using his henchmen.

It was during the initial phases of Ameer's Paruthiveeran (2007) that Sasikumar began his groundwork for Subramaniapuram and left the production to focus on his film.

Sasikumar started collecting old photos, banners and boards of shops to imitate the style of writing from that period and also searched the Internet extensively for photographs of the 80s.

He especially researched photographs of wedding processions along the streets for a clear picture of how the roads looked and the kind of vehicles in use.

Bhagyaraj had been keen to ensure that Sakkarakatti (2008) was his son's first release, as the team had brought in a prominent producer S. Thanu and musician A. R. Rahman.

Sasikumar stated that he was unable to wait for Sakkarakatti's release as he had loans to pay and moved ahead without the actor.

[12] The film's satellite rights were initially sold to Zee Tamil who later resold them to Sun TV.

[12][13] Sify wrote "Sasikumar should be appreciated for making a bold and daring film, whose success will augur well for the industry.

"[15] Bellie Raj won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer.

[16] On its 10th anniversary, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap tweeted that this film inspired him to make Gangs of Wasseypur.