Deepa Mehta after being inspired by Nandita Das in the film.She signed her for Earth 1947.(1999).
Shabana Azmi had discussed the story with Farhan Akthar.Who suggested to change the climax which originally had Shabana Azmi's character dying in the end.
In one scene, Sita says to Radha that now she has visited New Delhi, she wants to visit Bombay (Mumbai). Radha asks, "To join the movies?". Mumbai is the center of Bollywood films in India.
Radha and Sita are names of deities in Hinduism who are avatars (reincarnations) of Lakshmi, a goddess who is also the consort of Vishnu. Vishnu's counterpart for Radha is Krishna while for Sita it is Rama.