The mystery thriller was co-written by Abhay Chopra, Nikhil Mehrotra, and Shreyas Jain. It was inspired by the 1969 film of the same name, originally directed by Yash Chopra. Ittefaq featured Sidharth Malhotra, Akshaye Khanna, and Sonakshi Sinha in lead roles and had a modest box office performance, earning 51.47 crore Indian rupees worldwide.

In an interview with Pinkvilla, she shared how the Pathaan actor supported her son Abhay’s directorial debut movie when she was struggling to finance the project.

While recalling the events leading up to the 2017 film, Renu mentioned that she had reached out to Shah Rukh, who initially declined her invitation to visit but promised to come out of respect. After waiting three weeks for his visit, she decided to take the initiative herself.

She candidly expressed her financial constraints in their meeting. “I don’t have money,” she said and the Jawan actor “immediately” offered to cover the costs, stating, “I’ll put in the money.”

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Renu reassured him that her son would “dedicate himself fully” to the film. She noted that it was Abhay’s debut project and humorously pointed out that the actor hadn’t even read the script. His guiding principle, she explained, was, “I never back the horse; I back the jockey,” indicating his trust in Abhay’s capabilities.

The filmmaker revealed that the actor refused to charge interest on the funds he provided. “And to this day… the money was always 50-50 down the line. When the movie was completed, he insisted, ‘Nahi, ye haraam hai mere liye. Main nahi lunga’ (No, this is forbidden for me. I won’t take it).”