Sanjay Gandhi, born on December 14, 1946, was the younger son of former late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He died in an air crash on 23 June 1980 near Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi.

Talking about Sanjay Gandhi, Kangana said, "Sanjay is one of the most crucial people in Mrs Gandhi's life. For this I needed someone who played a man with his innocence intact but who is also shrewd at the same time. He is equally competent and equally passionate."

She added, "The man needed many shades and can play a whole spectrum of emotions. Sanjay is an extension of his mother. I looked for a face for more than 6 months and I decided to launch him as the face. I am glad that after Avneet I am launching a new face in a very big scale film. Vishak is a tremendous actor and has done a slew of Malayalam movies. This is his first Hindi film and I am certain he will do great justice to Sanjay's character."