'Udta Punjab' director Abhishek Chaubey said the film got made because actors Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Kareena Kapoor "significantly reduced" their fees for their roles. "Alia was still new, but if Shahid and Kareena charged their market rate for this kind of a film, the budget would’ve gone so high that it wouldn’t have been feasible," Chaubey added.