The movie is inspired by the 1938 Hollywood movie 'Angels with Dirty Faces'. James Cagney's role in the movie is the inspiration for the character of Shah Rukh Khan.
The film was in the making for over 3 years as Shah Rukh Khan had a dispute with the producer over a matter of a paycheck. The film stopped and continued several times over the 3 years.
Shah Rukh Khan agreed to do the film while he was shooting for Chamatkaar. Only a few scenes were written at that point and the script was incomplete .
In the middle of the song "Phek Hawa Mein Ek Chumma" (Shah Rukh standing on the rock) , Anu Malik lifted the same exact music of the intro of the song " Mangta Hai Kya" from Rangeela. Later Govinda used it for the intro of his pop song "Kad Diti Jaan". The same sound was heard in the song " One Two Cha Cha Cha" at 1:16 from the album Usha Uthup Mega Mix.
Director Rajiv Mehra stated he was inspired by a Ethiopean documentary that he saw. A boy's name was "God Knows". Thats how he found the title "Ram Jaane".