Sangharsh and the 1991 Hollywood thriller, The Silence of the Lambs, had a lot in common., but the film's director rejected this, claiming the film was based on a real police case
It was Preity Zinta’s third Bollywood film and her first with Akshay Kumar.Tanuja Chandra, Sangharsh's director, is the sister of writer Vikram Chandra and critic Anupama Chopra.Ajay Devgn was reportedly signed for the film but opted out.Ashutosh Rana had previously played the villain in Chandra's Dushman (1998). Both roles are deemed iconic.The film marked the acting debut of Aman Verma.Alia Bhatt appears as young Reet in the flashback.The film was previously titled Andhera.Ashutosh goes on to play Alia Bhatt's father in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014).Ashutosh won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role.Akshay delivered a series of duds before starring in Sangharsh. The film is said to have revived his career.Akshay's character is named Professor Aman Verma. Aman Verma is also an actor in the film.Sangharsh is Preity’s only film where she plays a cop.At the time, Tanuja had claimed the film was based on an actual police case.Anthony Hopkins had played the original Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs and its two sequels (Hannibal and Red Dragon).The character was reprised by Gaspard Ulliel in Hannibal Rising (2006) and Mads Mikkelsen in the tv series Hannibal (2013-2015).Hannibal’s taste for human flesh is not shared by the heroic Aman Verma.Akshay draping a saree and shrieking loudly in Laxxmi is a likely homage to Lajjan Pandey in Sangharsh.Sangharsh was shot by acclaimed Telugu cinematographer-turned-director Teja.The lead role of a CBI officer on the trail of a psychopathic killer was initially offered to Karisma Kapoor.'90s pop star Remo Fernandes voiced the track Manzil Na Ho in Sangharsh.The tune of 'Mujhe Raat Din' is copied from 'Mujhe Dekh Kar Aapka Muskurana' from Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962).Ajay Devgn's film Zakhm was titled Sangharsh at one point. Both were produced by Vishesh Films.Akshay, Preity and Aman also appear together in Jaan-E-Mann (2006).The ritual of child sacrifice during a solar eclipse also drives the 2002 English-language film Darkness (2002).