Malayalam actor Rajeev Pillai has been cast opposite Richa Chadha in the upcoming biopic on adult South actor, Shakeela. He featured in the 2011 crime thriller, City of God, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, and has been a ramp model. Rajeev plays Shakeela's lover in the film.

Richa went to Shakeela's ancestral home to get more details about her life, understand her family history and dynamics. She will also be learning the dialect of the region to get the tone of the character right. As Shakeela and Richa have met, she had the Malayalam actress herself showing Richa around the home and neighbourhood.