Having directed several music videos, Sanjay F. Gupta decided to direct the film after being impressed with Suparn Verma's script. Confirming that it was not inspired by any Hong Kong film, Gupta decided to do his own take on it despite feeling the script wasn't novel. Feeling John Abraham suited the role from the beginning, Gupta cast him as the lead alongside Priyanka Chopra, and named the protagonist after Abraham. Producer Harry Baweja revealed the film was based on a true story and shot entirely in Mumbai.