Padayappa's story was taken in part from the historical Tamil novel, Ponniyin Selvan, by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Neelambari's character is based on Nandini, a vengeful character in the novel.
From this film onwards, it has become necessary for Rajinikanth to wear a wig to cover his balding scalp.
At one point, the makers were considering naming the film Neelambari but due to fear of potential protests from fans of Rajinikanth, the original title, Padayappa was retained.
Although he had another film released in 2000, 'Padaiyappa' is the last film Sivaji Ganesan acted in.