In one scene, Rohan (Shahid Kapoor) is wearing a hat with a feather on it, and a leather jacket. This is a tribute to the Yash Raj Film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).
Veera Kaur (Rani Mukerji) takes the alias of Veer Pratap Singh. Rani Mukherjee had earlier starred in the Yash Raj Film Veer-Zaara (2004), which featured the title character of Veer Pratap Singh (Shah Rukh Khan).
This is the second film where Rani Mukerji is dressed up as a Punjabi. The first was in Hadh Kar Di Aapne (2000).
The film was originally to be called simply "Hadippa," but Sanjay Leela Bhansali had already bought the rights to use the title in his own film and wasn't willing to give it up, so it was announced that the movie title would be "Dil Bole Hadippa."
Urmila Matondkar was initially offered to play a cameo role in the film. Matondkar eventually opted out of the film and the role was given to Tabu.