initially, naik chose a mumbai-based actor for the role of juze's wife, maria, as he wasn't confident that local artistes would be up to a role with a number of sex scenes. however, the chosen actor couldn't perform because of her language barrier. naik then turned to gauri kamat upon many recommendations, and after some initial hesitation, she agreed to play the part. however, by late 2015, they faced an even bigger problem: shortage of funds even before post-production. it was then that naik thought of national film development corporation’s annual "film bazaar", where it attracted the attention of noted producer olivia stewart, who procured funds from the netherlands-based production company keplerfilm and the france-based production company of cine-sud promotions. christian jeune, who is famous as a scout for cannes film festival, was also impressed with the film's idea, and the film almost made it to cannes’ un certain regard selection.