The shooting took place in a remote village in Gujarat. Vinod Khanna never turned up for the film 's shooting. Most of his scene's were shot in Mumbai. This annoyed Naseeruddin Shah to no end.
Actress Smita Patil was the first choice for the role; Aruna Raje had written the script with her good friend in mind. Shooting was to begin after Patil gave birth to her first child. The filmmaker revealed that Patil also wanted to assist her as she had wanted to become a director at some point.Sadly, Patil died a few days after giving birth to her son Prateik and Aruna Raje was grieving for her friend. Rihaee's dialogue writer, Suraj Sanim, then suggested actress Hema Malini. The filmmaker wondered if she would agree to be a part of the project. Surprisingly, she said 'yes' and her reaction to the subject was very refreshing. In many ways she was right for the film, but it would not be the film I had initially planned to make with Smita," she wrote in her book."
Naseeruddin Shah was initially cast as Taku's husband in the film, but he agreed to play Mansukh instead. Actor Vinod Khanna, who had come back from the US after five years as a disciple of Rajneesh, later known as Osho, played the husband Amar.
Rihaee was made on a low budget. Besides the loan from NFDC, Aruna Raje had borrowed money and taken an advance from an overseas distributor to finance the film. However, before the first print could be released, she ran out of money. One of her leading men came to her aid. "It was during the dubbing of Rihaee that Vinod, finding me preoccupied, literally cornered me into telling him what the problem was. When he found out what was bothering me, he stepped out of the studio, went to his car and got me thirty thousand rupees. This was exactly what I needed for the first print. When I made a fuss about taking it, he thrust it in my hands and said, 'Don't worry, payable when able'."
Aruna Raje had been worried that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) would go to town on her film, cutting out objectionable scenes and dialogues. To her relief, the film did not face any cuts. It was only certified 'A' for adult viewing, meaning it would be harder for the film's overall business.Being a female filmmaker, Aruna Raje faced a battle with the distributors. Several trial shows were held, they liked her film, but were not ready to buy it.
"I was told that most of the distribution deals were done in four- and five-star hotels where the outstation distributors would be visiting. There would be whisky followed by food and women. Obviously I was a misfit since I would meet them in an office or in the lobby of a hotel. The brokers and agents too began to get frustrated. Some could not get that. Finally, I had to get a friend, a male, to talk business with them and clinch the deals."The film was finally premiered at the Nehru Centre in Worli, central Bombay, and raised funds for the Smita Patil Foundation. It received good reviews and, according to Aruna Raje, "grossed 98 to 100% all over India".The filmmaker said that even now she gets approached to remake the film but she refuses all such offers. "Rihaee was a product of that time. According to me, it cannot be remade," she said.