The film is based on a real guest house in Varanasi, India called Kashi Labh Mukti Bhavan. Over 14,000 guests have died there since it was established in 1958. The guests, who are mostly elderly and failing in health, are permitted to stay for two weeks. If they have not died by then, they are asked to check out to make room for others waiting. Dying in Varanasi is believed by Hindus to help the soul break out of the endless cycle of birth and death.