The high-budget film had its original soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman and the cinematography was by Santosh Sivan. This film marked Mohanlal's debut in Tamil cinema after having only a cameo in Gopura Vasalile.
The film was screened in the Masters section at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival. Iruvar went on to become a critical success winning the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival and two National Film Awards. In 2012, Iruvar was included by critic Rachel Dwyer in the 2012 British Film Institute Sight & Sound 1000 greatest films of all time. In a 2013 interview, Ratnam said he considered Iruvar as his best film. It used DTS 6 track sound recording.
The film was screened in the Masters section at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival. Iruvar went on to become a critical success winning the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival and two National Film Awards. In 2012, Iruvar was included by critic Rachel Dwyer in the 2012 British Film Institute Sight & Sound 1000 greatest films of all time. In a 2013 interview, Ratnam said he considered Iruvar as his best film. It used DTS 6 track sound recording.