The film grew from Ray's encounter, while making his fantasy Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha), with some objects shown to him by the Maharaja of Jaisalmer.

Nemai Ghosh recollects how Ray could be extraordinarily understanding when things went wrong. "I took a new -- and untested -- camera to Rajasthan for the shooting of Sonar Kella, and when I processed the negatives in Calcutta, most of them were duds. I did not have the guts to face Manikda. After a week the telephone rang, and it was his voice. Very softly, he told me whatever had happened had happened and there was nothing to worry about. I was so moved, I could not restrain my tears."