The film was based on the story "And One Did Not Come Back" by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, which is itself based on the heroic life of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis, played by V. Shantaram in the film.
Dr. Kotnis was sent to China during the Second World War to provide medical assistance to the troops fighting against the Japanese invasion in Yenan province.
While in China he met and courted a Chinese girl, Gou Qinglan. He died of Epilepsy in China.