The dog who played the army dog 'Bacardi' in the movie is indeed an army dog. Headquartered in Shopian, he had served 7 years in Indian army. He went by the name 'Hakka' in real life.It was his first onscreen appearance. He passed away on 15th August 2014.
Mohanlal was initially casted for the lead role by Major Ravi. But the actor said that, the role requires a much younger actor with good potential and suggeseted Prithviraj Sukumaran for the role.