Anu Aggarwal went topless in the film. It was her only career nude scene.
Due to its erotic theme and full female nudity, the short film caused a huge controversy in India and was not screened again. In January 1995, The Cloud Door was screened once for the public at the International Film Festival of India in Mumbai as part of the Erotic Tales program, which featured two other shorts: Susan Seidelman's The Dutch Master and Ken Russell's The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch. Director Mani Kaul, had never previously made an Indian erotic film, despite the country's rich history of erotic folk art and literature. The single-screening of the film caused an uproar due to its erotic nature and on-screen full female nudity, and resulted in the police being called in to prevent rioting. An extra screening, exclusively for the press, was held later at a different venue. The film was also screened at the Munich Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival, New York Film Festival and the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar.
One of the inspirations for the story for the movie is based on the work of noted Sanskrit scholar Bhasa and his six-act play 'Avimaraka'.
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