Shekhar Kapur shared he "almost got fired" as Elizabeth's director. He recalled that he spotted Cate Blanchett in one promo reel and wanted her in the film. He said, "The team said...they'd have to audition her...My agent [said] that if I kept asking for...new girl that nobody knows, I'd be fired...I [said], 'Arra dekh lange aisi vi (we shall see)'."