In an interview with Priyanka Pereira of '' The Wall Street Journal '' , director Hansal Mehta said that he needed a break after some of his films proved to be a box-office failures , like '' Woodstock Villa '' ( 2007 ) and '' Raakh '' ( 2010 ) . On 11 February 2010 , lawyer Shahid Azmi was shot dead in his office in Mumbai at the age of 32 . He had represented those accused of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings , the 2006 Malegaon bombings and while he was defending Faheem Ansari in the 2008 Mumbai attacks case , he was killed . Azmi was arrested during the communal riots of 1992-1993 in Mumbai and later studied law and began defending people arrested on false charges . The lawyer secured 17 acquittals in his seven-year career . Mehta said that when he heard about Azmi 's murder , he had a sense that the tale of his life could pull his " creativity out of the rut " . He felt that Azmi lived an " ordinary life , with extraordinary conviction to do what he believed was right " and that his story " had to be told " . Mehta began his research nearly three months after Azmi 's murder . He later met writer Sameer Gautam Singh , who approached Mehta with a script . Mehta said he could not make a film with the script and asked him if he was would co-write another script with him . Singh agreed , and Mehta sent him along with his son Jai Mehta to Azmi 's hometown to meet his family . They interviewed his family members and friends for two months . Mehta chose not to go with them as he feared that on seeing a filmmaker , Azmi 's family and friends would " alter the version " of his life
2006 Malegaon bombings
2006 Malegaon bombings
Shahid (film)