Retro written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj is the filmmaker's maiden collaboration with actor Suriya, and the movie releasing on May 1, 2025 has certain expectations surrounding the synergy of these two brands. In a recent promotional interview, Karthik Subbaraj has opened up on what to expect from his movie Retro, which the filmmaker reveals was the second script Suriya liked of his. 

"Retro is not a gangster story. For the first time, (you are getting) a love story from me. I have explored relationships in my previous films but Retro is a man-woman love story..Retro also has a lot of action in it, but it is not a film about a gangster. There will be crime. Even Mahaan (2022) was not a gangster story. I got an opportunity to explore and write about 'love' as an emotion. Retro is my (Karthik Subbaraj's) full fledged version of a love story", stated Karthik Subbaraj in an YouTube interview.

The filmmaker also revealed, "The first script that Suriya liked of mine was around 2-3 years ago when I was doing Mahaan..Then Suriya wanted something new from the kind of films he was doing..". Karthik Subbaraj had originally written Retro for Rajinikanth, and Suriya had liked this script. On Suriya's suggestion, the movie went from a full mass action to a love-action. 

On what to expect from the Suriya-Karthik Subbaraj combo, the director said, "Writing Retro was new to me. The aesthetics of a 90s movie - emotionally and character wise - had to be imbibed in Retro writing. I was able to also place an abstract of a story that I wanted to tell. At the same time, I had a lot of fun shooting this movie. I generally don't like the differentiation between commercial and art in mainstream cinema. But with Retro what we have tried to achieve is taking something that I like, and making it likeable for the audience."

Jointly produced by Jyotika and Suriya's 2D Entertainment, and Karthik Subbaraj's Stone Bench Films, Retro has Santhosh Narayanan for music. The movie has Pooja Hegde playing female lead, and also stars Jayaram, Joju George, Karunakaran, Nassar, Prakash Raj, Shriya Saran (dance cameo), among others.