To prepare for his role as Satbir, the antagonist in the film, actor Darshan Kumar began closely interacting with people who lived near National Highway 10, and added Haryanvi songs to his playlist.

Anushka Sharma’s character Meera smokes cigarettes in the film. To prepare for the role, the actor started smoking too. However, she kicked the habit the moment the film wrapped.

Rajkummar Rao and Freida Pinto were director Navdeep Singh’s initial picks. Anushka had initially declined the role of Meera, but was convinced to take it on by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap while shooting for Bombay Velvet (2015). Actor Neil Bhoopalam was later cast as Meera’s husband, Arjun.

Anushka refused to have any song-dance or item songs in the film. “Someone suggested we have a typical song-and-dance sequence just before the most critical point. I was told it would be good to pause with a romantic song where the leads get out of the car and start singing. My reaction was a blank expression,” Pinkvilla quoted her as saying.

In 2015, the makers confirmed that the film would get a sequel titled NH12. But there have not been any developments since.