Mani Ratnam, the ace director in the Indian cinema has been introducing various talents in many fields in the industry. ARR would be the best example for that. Similarly Santosh Sivan and Rajiv Menon reached new feats with Mani Ratnam's films. Production designers like Samir Chanda and Sabu Cyril were also taken to heights with Mani Ratnam's help.

Now with his Kadal, Mani Ratnam has introduced the lead roles Gautham and Thulasi. Shasidhar Adapa was praised for his 'Talaash' car crash seaside set that was put up in Puducherry and he is the art director of 'Kadal' which is a break for him in commercial cinema by Mani Ratnam. He said, "Mani sir learnt about my work through Rajiv Menon, with whom I have worked earlier. He made me an offer that I immediately accepted because of the importance he attaches to detailing. The volume of his creative demand is huge. His strength lies in compressing the scene and making it more meaningful.”

It is said that Adapa has created an enormous church set for 'Kadal' and used technology to create artificial waves.