Vidya Balan was not the first choice for the role of Lolita. Vidhu Vinod Chopra was hoping for an established actress such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan or Rani Mukerji. Vidya screen tested for the role of six months before Chopra was thoroughly convinced.
At a special preview of the film Amitabh Bachchan asked to provide narration for the film, saying it reminded him of his time as a struggling actor in Calcutta.
The movie features ads for Saridon, an analgesic and a "headache specialist". (The company making Saridon, Boots Piramal Healtcare Pvt Ltd, was one of the sponsors of the movie.) Saridon was launched in India in 1969. The movie is set in 1962.
The guitar that Shekhar plays in this movie was not made in 1962 (when the movie is set). The first synthetic roundbacks, introduced by Ovation, weren't in production until 1966, and the particular model seen in the film was brought in much later than that.