Mani Ratnam held a photo shoot for the film with Vikram and Manisha Koirala, but eventually did not choose Vikram as he was unwilling to remove his beard and moustache that he had grown for the production of another film during the period, Vikraman's "Pudhiya Mannargal" (1994). According to Ratnam, "Bombay" was not originally planned as a political film: "It was a phase India was going through and these things affected me and found their way into my work." Koirala's voice was dubbed by Rohini. Nassar, a Muslim in real life, was cast as the father of Arvind Swamy's character (a Hindu) while Kitty, a Hindu in real life, was cast as the father of Koirala's character (a Muslim). Ratnam deliberately cast them in those roles as a statement.