Both Abhishek And Kareena's first movie.
Recalling the first scene he ever shot for his debut film, JP Dutta's Refugee, Abhishek said about 2000-3000 people had come to watch 'Amitabh Bachchan's son' and he got so nervous that he had to give 17 retakes to get his first shot right."That evening as I was driving back to the hotel, it dawned on me that I had spent more energy that day thinking about pressure, perception and what people are going to say vis-a-vis my parents, when actually those energies should have been channelled into doing my job. And I decided that day that I'm never going to think about this," he added.
J.P. Dutta stated "We had been working on a film for Abhishek which was to be produced by ABCL earlier. When that didn't happen and I walked up to them to cast Abhishek, they already knew my body of work. The Bachchans, too, were not looking at the usual masala film to launch their son. That's why there was a mutual respect when we decided to work together.
I needed faces which were without the shadow of any other image they had built up earlier. I did not have a reference point for this subject, so I needed totally new faces. The story did not come from a book or magazine or anything -it was a story that emanated from that village I saw way back in the seventies when I was making my first film.I went back to the border, spoke to the people there, heard about their lives before the 1965, 1971 wars. That interaction excited me and this film was born. Your locales have always been intriguing and out-of-the-ordinary. Yes, I wanted to capture the majesty of the Rann of Kutch and I chose this location because that's where the story is based. I've always believed that a film should be visually beautiful. I've grown up on such films --those of David Lean and other masters. The location of Refugee is where the film belongs. I always feel that if, in my lifetime, I can cover one per cent of the beauty of this country, I'll be a happy man. I can't understand why people feel the need to go abroad to shoot. The Rann -this white sheet of salt -is so beautiful; you can't get your eyes off it. Kilometres and kilometres of nothingness... You can't move your eyes away, there's something so majestic about it. It reminds you of the Creator. It's awesome. You want to go back to it. And the story belongs there because it deals with people who cross over from there. And it's an overnight journey across the border from the Rann.".
I needed faces which were without the shadow of any other image they had built up earlier. I did not have a reference point for this subject, so I needed totally new faces. The story did not come from a book or magazine or anything -it was a story that emanated from that village I saw way back in the seventies when I was making my first film.I went back to the border, spoke to the people there, heard about their lives before the 1965, 1971 wars. That interaction excited me and this film was born. Your locales have always been intriguing and out-of-the-ordinary. Yes, I wanted to capture the majesty of the Rann of Kutch and I chose this location because that's where the story is based. I've always believed that a film should be visually beautiful. I've grown up on such films --those of David Lean and other masters. The location of Refugee is where the film belongs. I always feel that if, in my lifetime, I can cover one per cent of the beauty of this country, I'll be a happy man. I can't understand why people feel the need to go abroad to shoot. The Rann -this white sheet of salt -is so beautiful; you can't get your eyes off it. Kilometres and kilometres of nothingness... You can't move your eyes away, there's something so majestic about it. It reminds you of the Creator. It's awesome. You want to go back to it. And the story belongs there because it deals with people who cross over from there. And it's an overnight journey across the border from the Rann.".
Kareena was first approached to do a film with Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) but declined the offer because she wanted her first movie to be with Amitabh Bachchan's son.
Bipasha Basu was offered a role opposite Sunil Shetty. When she declined, the role was scrapped from the film.