Trivia

India's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008).

It was decided, early in production, to shoot the film in an actual palace for authenticity. Scouts were sent and went all over the state of Rajasthan with a tooth-comb to find the perfect location, but finally Vidhu Vinod Chopra, while skimming through a travel magazine, discovered a small picture of a fort in the hills of Devigarh. The fort, now a popular Heritage hotel, was perfect for exterior shots, but was obviously unsuitable for interior shots (as well as the obvious problems of guests, the interiors were modern-looking). So, scouting was undertaken again, but this time over the city of Jaipur. They were finally allowed to shoot interior scenes within the living quarters of the Jaipur Royal Family, thanks to costume designer Prince Raghavendra Rathore. Eklavya's cottage was the only set constructed from scratch. It was so well created that the hotel's guests and visitors assumed it to be a part of the hotel.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra was so impressed by Amitabh Bachchan's performance as the titular character that he presented to Bachchan a Rolls-Royce Phantom limousine costing around Rs. 35 million.

Vivek Oberoi was signed for Saif Ali Khan' s role but was dropped.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra spent five years working on the script.