London-born Girija Shettar was a guest at Mani Ratnam's marriage to Suhasini, and was selected for the title role. She took two months to prepare for the role under associate director 'Gadiraju Keshava Rao'.
In the song Om Namaha, that was done in a single long shot (YouTube/online versions do not show this in a single shot as in the original release), you can see a fly in the latter part of the song (right shoulder of the hero).