The first planned collaboration between Khan and Shetty was a remake of Angoor (1982). The script of Chennai Express, which was initially written as a backup project for Khan, was chosen instead. Conceived as a “commercial” romance, the film was originally titled Ready Steady Po. Filming began in Mehboob Studio in October 2012 and was completed by May 2013. A large part of the film was set in Ooty, for which sets were constructed in Wai. The soundtrack for Chennai Express was composed by Vishal–Shekhar, with the background score being composed by Amar Mohile. UTV Motion Pictures acquired the distribution rights of the film.