An early version of the film's story was written by veteran screenwriter Sachin Bhowmick, however it did not go well with Gulzar. He had an idea of an estranged couple meeting in an hotel after years, and started developing it. Hindi writer Kamleshwar joined as the writing crew, as the film started shooting. He later went on to write a full-fledged novel, "Kali Aandhi" (Black Storm), which is quite different from the film. Subsequently, the film was written simultaneously along with another Gulzar film, "Mausam" (1975), which was also written by Bhushan Banmali and Gulzar. Along with "Khushboo", "Aandhi" also released in the same year; 1975 proving to be the most prolific for director-screenwriter Gulzar's career.