Retro is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj.

The film has music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, cinematography handled by Shreyaas Krishna and editing by Shafique Mohamed Ali.

In late 2021, director Karthik Subbaraj and actor Suriya began discussing for a potential collaboration in the future.

[6][7] Two-and-a-half years later, on 28 March 2024, Subbaraj announced through his social media accounts that he would join hands with Suriya for his directorial venture after Jigarthanda DoubleX (2023).

Subbaraj had met Suriya prior to the shooting of Jigarthanda DoubleX and narrated a one-liner, which the latter requested to develop.

[34] On the occasion of his birthday (15 May), Santhosh Narayanan was announced as the film's composer by the production house, in his eighth collaboration with the director.

[35][36] Two weeks later, the team announced that Shreyaas Krishna would handle the cinematography, in his third collaboration with Subbaraj after Jagame Thandhiram (2021) and Mahaan (2022).

[37][38] In addition to Shreyaas Krishna, the technical crew of art directors Jacki and Mayapandi, editor Shafique Mohamed Ali, stunt choreographer Kecha Khamphakdee and costume designer Praveen Raja were announced the same day.

[41][42] Prior to starting the first shooting schedule, the team had constructed a set at Port Blair located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for filming an action sequence.

[48] In mid-May, Pooja Hegde was reported to have been cast for the lead actress role, pairing opposite Suriya, in her first film with the latter and Subbaraj.

[54][55] Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Hegde revealed that Subbaraj had cast her after he was impressed by her performance in Radhe Shyam (2022).

[65][66] Later it was reported that Prashanth and Prakash Raj would play important roles in the film,[67][68] with latter in his fourth collaboration with Suriya after Nerukku Ner (1997), Singam (2010) and Jai Bhim (2021).

[79] Director Thamizh, Ramachandran Durairaj, Prem Kumar, Sandeep Raj and Remya Suresh joined cast for supporting roles.

[88][89] Firstly, the team shot action sequences, choreographed by Kecha Khamphakdee, at a specially erected set.

[96][97] On 28 June, Joju George shared a video of himself on a boat in Andaman Island, revealing he joined the sets.

[108][109] On 7 August, Suriya got a head injury on the sets,[110][111] while filming an action sequence at Nawanagar Palace, Ooty.

[127][128] By mid-August, Jayaram completed filming for his portions,[129][130] After a day, on 19 August 2024, the next schedule was intended to begin at Idukki in Kerala for the two-day shoot;[131][132] but was delayed.

[155] Shafique Mohamed Ali renewed his association with Subbaraj after Jigarthanda Double X and handled the editing for the film.

[159] The music and background score are composed by Santhosh Narayanan, in his first collaboration with Suriya and eighth with Subbaraj.

[171] Akhila Menon of OTTPlay noted "The one-of-a-kind video, which is a first-time attempt in Tamil cinema, featured leading man Suriya in a never-seen-before avatar.

[187][188] After its positive response, the teaser for the Telugu and Hindi-dubbed versions were released on the YouTube channels of T-Series on 7 February 2025.

[182] From February 2025, the makers began publishing a behind-the-scenes comic strip panel leading up to the film's release.

[196][197] Previously, the film was planned for release on the Pongal weekend but was postponed to the summer (April–June) of 2025,[198] as Subbaraj needed more time for post-production process.

[205] The film's South Indian streaming rights were acquired by Netflix for a record price of ₹80 crore (US$9.2 million).