Dirty Hari

Dirty Hari marks M. S. Raju's directorial return after his 2012 film Tuneega Tuneega.[7] In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, Raju was quoted: "...[the bold scenes] will be shown in a poetic way. Filmmakers like Bharathan, Puttanna Kanagal, etc., have made several classical bold films in an aesthetic way. I was inspired by them and wanted to try something different."[8] He aimed the film for an audience aged 15-35.[8] The director said the film uses "a blend of several emotions; however, to make it more engaging to the audience we are making sure that the re-recording will aptly complement the narrative and engage the audience".[9]

In an interview with The Hindu, Simrat Kaur stated her character to be bold and confident. She compared to that of Deepika Padukone's role in 2012 Hindi film Cocktail. The auditioning team was not initially convinced with her looks.[10] For her, on screen kissing, wearing lingerie, dialogues in a husky tone was difficult sans Telugu dialect.[10]

In an interview with The Times of India, the lead actor Shravan was skeptical to sign the "bold" film. When he first heard the script, he was wary of erotic thrillers need to be handled very carefully.[11] He described his character role as "a chess player who works part-time as a coach in a reputed chess club." In the film he plays "an ambitious guy who will go to any lengths to achieve".[11]

Principal photography was delayed the production house was looking for established female lead.[5] Filming completed in Hyderabad by end of November 2019. There are scenes in the film that were shot for 23 hours at a stretch. Simrat Kaur completed her filming portions in 20 days.[12]