In October 2018, Manoj Bajpayee's Bhonsle made waves at the Busan International Film Festival, bagging a nomination for the Kim Ji-seok Award. His act as a reticent cop who raises his voice against divisive politics was widely applauded. Almost 20 months later, as the drama enjoyed a digital premiere on SonyLIV over the weekend, the actor—who has doubled up as a producer on the project—is content. "We had decided at the start that we would take this film to as many festivals as possible. An independent film needs to create a dialogue about its merit so that it can get buyers," reasons the actor.

After doing the rounds of 30 international film festivals and winning the Best Actor gong at Asia Pacific Screen Awards last year, Bajpayee started seeking a theatrical release for the movie. "We were eyeing a March-April release, but, with the lockdown, that looked like a distant dream. When SonyLiv made an offer, it seemed like a win-win situation."