In Phantom, Saif Ali Khan embarks on a revenge mission. The film's director Kabir Khan has always maintained that he prefers real locations instead of relying on CGI (computer-generated imagery) because the actual backdrop adds more depth to his story. A major portion of this film is shot in Beirut and many from the supporting team were affiliated to the Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group (and also a political party).

Saif says, “When I picked up a conversation with one of the guys I was doing my action sequence with, he told me he is with the Hezbollah. Half the junior artistes and local supporting actors in the film belonged to some sort of an extremist faction. Kabir had met them somewhere, I guess. For most part of our shoot, I was just hoping no one shoots us.“