In the early 1960s, director Gulzar had approached Suchitra Sen, with screenplay for a film to be produced by Sohanlal Kanwar, however when she suggested some changes which Gulzar didn't agree upon, the film never got made. For film "Aandhi" producer J. Om Prakash insisted upon Gulzar to approach Sen again and actor Sanjeev Kumar was also keen on working with Sen. This time when the new script was done, Gulzar went to meet her in Kolkata, she agreed without any script issues, resulting in a "casting coup". In fact, Sen now promised Gulzar to not suggest any changes, and she stuck to her promise all through the filming. For the role Aarti Devi's estranged husband Sanjeev Kumar was already cast, who had previously worked in Gulzar's "Koshish" (1973), again as an older man. Kumar, one of the finest actors of his generation, went on to collaborate with Gulzar in numerous films, like "Mausam" (1975), "Angoor" (1981) and "Namkeen" (1982).