10 Years of 7aum Arivu: Interesting facts about the film

7aum Arivu is a science fiction martial arts film written and directed by AR Murgadoss with Suriya, Shruti Haasan and Johnny Tru Nguyen in the lead. While 7aum Arivu was produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, the visual effects for the film was done by US-based Legacy Effects. The film was also selected by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce for the Indian submission for Oscar under the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category.

Suriya played a dual character in the film - of Bodhidharma, a monk, martial arts and medicine expert, and the son of a king. He also played the circus artiste Aravind who assists Subha (played by Shruti Haasan), who is on a mission to revive Bodhidharma. It is said that Suriya underwent physical training for a kung fu sequence within 16 days. The actor also suffered an ankle injury during the film's shoot.

The soundtrack for the film comprised six songs, which included a track by Chinese singer Wang Hao. Lyrics for the songs were by Madhan Karky. The film also marked the second collaboration between AR Murugadoss and Harris Jayaraj after Ghajini. The album comprised the songs Oh Ringa Ringa, Mun Andhi, Yellae Amma, Yamma Yamma, Innum Enna Thozha and The Rise of Damo in Mandarin.

The visual effects of the film was done by Legacy Effects, an American special effects studio, at an approximate cost of Rs 10 crore. Their work in Hollywood includes the Terminator series, Jurassic Park series, Avatar, Predator series, Aliens, Iron Man and Edward Scissorhands. Vietnamese actor and martial artist Johnny Tri Nguyen played the antagonist in the film.

Buddhist teacher Babu T Raghu stated in a press conference that a disclaimer should have been added in the film and that the film was not an accurate depiction of Bodhidharma. He added that the monk was 150 years old when he reached China and was not a youngster as depicted in the film. While some said that the film focused a lot on his Tamil identity and not on his contribution to Buddhism, historians also raised questions of his existence.