Bombay Velvet was initially to be produced by Viacom18 but finally Fox Star Studios decided to co-produce it with Phantom Films. The film is based on Gyan Prakash's book Mumbai Fables and set in early 1950's towards 1970's, before Mumbai became a metropolis. Prakash is also one of the scriptwriter's for the film.[4]
Ranbir Kapoor will be portraying a street fighter, whilst Anushka Sharma will appear as a jazz singer, as well as his love interest in the film.[5][6] On his decision to do the film Ranbir Kapoor stated that," There is no process in selecting the kind of work I do. I'm fortunate to be working with some of the best filmmakers. The script of "Bombay Velvet" just fell into my lap. I read it and I knew immediately that I wanted to be part of Anurag's grand vision, his innovative storytelling, his movie-making process; everything that he does so perfectly."
Director Karan Johar will make his full-fledged acting debut, where he will enact the role of the primary antagonist, Kaizad Khambatta.[7] His role is said to have been inspired from Russi Karanjia.[3] On Karan's acting, Vikas Bahl of Phantom Films has said “I think there is a beautiful actor hidden in Karan. I simply love his ads. I'm sure he'll make the character bigger than the actor.”y Velvet