mehta conceived the idea of "delhi crime" during a conversation with neeraj kumar, the former commissioner of the delhi police, who introduced him to the investigating team and provided access to several legal documents that were prepared as part of the investigation. later on, kumar asked mehta if he would consider making a film on the case to which he denied. he then started reading the documents and was "amazed at the precision with which this case was solved, and so quickly." he also met the officers involved in the case and was "blown away by them." mehta sought permission from the victim's family. mehta said that films like "the french connection" (1971) and "zodiac" (2007) influenced his approach.