It stars Ajith Kumar and Lakshmi Menon while Shruti Hassan, Ashwin Kakumanu, Rahul Dev, Thambi Ramaiah, Kabir Duhan Singh, and Soori play supporting roles.

[11][12] The film begins with a police unit being instructed by their officer to capture the trio of brothers who head a French human trafficking ring - Aniket, Abhinay and Rahul.

The group is successful in intercepting Rahul in his plane but he holds the families of the officers of the unit hostage with the help of his men thereby turning on to the officer-in-charge and shooting him.

Meanwhile, DCP Yashpal calls Ganesh and the other drivers and asks them to report any activities by crime syndicate members who have been causing trouble in the city.

Learning about the death of his brother, Abhinay reaches India and investigates the murder the next day, where he and his technical crew track Ganesh's mobile signal to their own building.

Past: Ganesh is a ruthless thug-for-hire called Vedalam who meets Thamizh at the hospital after his enemies stab him.

A builder threatens Thamizh and her blind parents to sell their house for a company site, where she and her friend Esther hire Vedalam, who betrays them, having been paid earlier and a higher amount, and the family leaves their home and starts living in Vedalam's home.

Vedalam, who has a change of heart, rescues Thamizh (who loses her memory) and states that he is her brother and takes care of her.

Ganesh picks up the gun and shoots in the wrong direction to distract Thamizh and finally kills Rahul.

[7][13] Siva worked on the script in Bangalore and approached leading production companies, including PVP Cinema, to produce the film, though A. M. Rathnam announced that he would finance the project in October 2014.

[24] During October 2014, Hansika Motwani, Samantha Akkineni, and Shruti Haasan were reported to play female leads.

[26] In November 2014, it was reported that Yuvan Shankar Raja, who worked with Kumar in several projects, was speculated to compose the music for the film.

[32] The role of Ganesh's sister in the film took considerably longer to finalise, with several actresses having been approached to portray the character.

[35] After further unsuccessful negotiations with Parvathy Nair,[36] Lakshmi Menon was cast to play the role of Ganesh's sister in April 2015.

[42][43] The first official schedule began shooting in Navalur, Chennai, with scenes featuring Kumar and Menon entering a college.

[46] The team moved to Kolkata and scenes were shot featuring Haasan as a lawyer and Kumar as a taxi driver,[48] with images from the shoot leaked on social networking sites.

[51] The unit then moved to shoot few scenes and a song sequence in Milan, Italy featuring Kumar and Haasan.

[55][56] Scenes were shot at Ramee Mall and a special set was erected at AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Guindy Race Course, and Fortis Malar Hospital, featuring Kumar and Haasan.

[62] "Veera Vinayaka", the introductory number is based on the Vinayagar Chathurthi celebrations, and is similar to "Maha Ganapathi" from Amarkalam (1999) and "Pillayarpatti Hero" from Vaanmathi (1996).

[82] In India, Jazz Cinemas and Sushma Cine Arts acquired the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights.

[91] M. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 and called it "A packaged mass entertainer for Ajith fans and family audiences".

[92] Sify gave a rating of 3 out of 5 and stated, "Vedhalam is Ajith's one man show and it might enthrall his ardent fans for others, it's a formulaic film with few enjoyable moments.

[94] Avinash Gopinath from Filmibeat gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and concluded, "Though this movie suffers from logical loopholes and melodramatic sequences, it gets saved by Ajith and director Siva's propaganda that puts human values before money, which makes Vedalam watchable.

"[96] Gauthaman Bhaskaran of the Hindustan Times gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Vedalam is but an Ajith Kumar show (all the way where Menon and Haasan are wasted).

The man arrives with a big bang and never tires of bashing up baddies -- but now and then taking a break to cleanse society of minor evils like fooling law courts or cheating on wives.

"[97] India Today gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Siruthai Siva has worked the "mass" image of Ajith in Vedalam and the family sentiments to his advantage.

"[101] Daily News and Analysis gave a review stating "Director Siruthai Siva has ensured that there is plenty for Ajith fans and the family audience.

The sister sentiment (the story revolves around Tamizh) and the fact that men need to respect women is a major highlight in the film.