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Development and casting
Following the positive response to Socha Na Tha (2005), director Imtiaz Ali was approached and offered to direct many films by several production houses. However, unable to find any films that interested him, he began working on an idea that originated from his own personal experience. As a frequent traveller on Mumbai's local trains, he wondered what it would be like if he had met someone while travelling, and decided to write a story on it. Ali explained, "As a small guy from a small town, I used to travel a lot in trains. And I would always wonder what were to happen if I extended the relationship of a train beyond [it] ... The gem [of Jab We Met] was that, which was [then] extended into a story."

Describing himself as an "insubstantial dialogue writer" who wasn't "cinema literate", Ali explained that he chose to write a simple story with relatable characters. After completing the script, he approached several producers to finance him, but was refused. Dhillin Mehta later agreed to produce the film under his production house, Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. The character of Geet Dhillon was inspired by the director's dream companion, someone who he would "have a great time travelling [with]". When casting began, the director explained that he wanted "someone who could be hyper, talkative and interesting but not irritating"; Kareena Kapoor (who readily agreed to be part of the film) was the director's first choice. Ali admitted that he hadn't seen too many of her films, but knew that she was "perfect". In an interview with CNN-IBN, Kapoor explained that she was drawn to some of her character's qualities: "She is so fun-loving. She is a girl from the heart [and] doesn't think from her mind. She is emotional [...] Somewhere a little bit, I am like that."

While casting for the role of Aditya Kashyap, the director was keen on choosing an actor who was "young, [but] mature" as well. Ali was impressed by the maturity Shahid Kapoor displayed at a young age; he commented, "When I met [Shahid], I realised he wasn't the forgettable actor that he comes across in several of his movies. He has gone through a lot in life and that maturity had never been brought out." Kapoor described his role as a challenge and sported a different look in an attempt to differentiate Aditya from the young characters he had played in his previous films. For the role of Geet's grandfather, Ali had decided to cast Dara Singh, but explained that it was a difficult task due to Singh being a private person. However, after the director approached Singh, the latter agreed to be a part of the project. Pawan Malhotra (as Geet's uncle), Kiran Juneja (as Geet's mother), Tarun Arora (as Anshuman), and television actresses Saumya Tandon (as Roop) and Divya Seth (as Aditya's mother) were later signed on to play the remaining characters.

The title of the film was decided by a popular vote; moviegoers had a choice between Punjab Mail, Ishq Via Bhatinda ('Love via Bhatinda') and Jab We Met. Ali wasn't too keen on having the film titled as Jab We Met, though later changed his mind after watching the film in its entirety.

Filming and marketing


In an attempt to reduce project timing and control production costs, Jab We Met was shot from a start-to-finish schedule lasting five months with post-production work taking around a month to complete.

Principal photography commenced on 20 March 2007 with a major portion of the project, including a song, being filmed in Nabha, a city in the Patiala district of Punjab, India. The second schedule continued in Patiala and Khandala, and later shifted to Manali, Himachal Pradesh where the song, "Yeh Ishq Hai" was filmed on the Rohtang Pass. The cast faced difficulty shooting for the song due to the high altitude and change in oxygen levels. During this time, a crew member had fainted and was rushed to a nearby medical camp. The remainder of the song was later shot in the Himalayas with a group of Tibetan dancers.

Upon completing the second schedule, the crew shifted to Shimla. While filming at a railway station, the lead actors were mobbed by fans, and cops were called in to disperse the crowd. Some portions of the film were later shot in the nearby mountains to avoid the crowd from interfering. The last schedule of the film was shot in Mumbai over several weeks; during this period, sources indicated that the lead pair had broken up. Though the media projected it as a publicity stunt for the film, the director denied it.

Post-production work began in September 2007 with both the lead actors appeareing separately on different television shows to promote the film. Kareena Kapoor appeared as guest judge on the singing talent contest Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 whilst Shahid Kapoor appeared on Amul STAR Voice of India and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa respectively; they later appeared together on the television show Nach Baliye. Apart from this, the producers also painted two full local trains in Mumbai from the Western and Central lines with Jab We Met imagery, where Shahid Kapoor chatted up with fellow passengers and informed them about the movie. On the night of 23 October 2007, a special preview of the film was organized at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai for those associated with the film and their families.