Ratnam did not know Kannada before directing the film but learned it "on the job", as he extensively researched literature for the script at the USIS and British Council offices in Chennai. With the help of his associate Shivanand, he was able to convert the English dialogues into Kannada and help Kapoor and Kiran Vairale perform to their respective lines, in a language unfamiliar to them. The film was shot in Coorg and Bangalore, close to Venus Films' distribution centre in the city. Towards the end of production, the film ran into financial difficulties and it took twenty one months to finish the final three days of the shoot, owing to call-sheet conflicts.