Ekalavya from the epic Mahabharat was always in the script.. it is there to clue us subconsciously into the personality of the royal guard’s (Amitabh Bachchan) character in the film who shares the same name. Now this important significance would be missed if audiences were not familiar with the legend.. audiences abroad as well as many young people are not well versed with the epics, hence a retelling was necessary…
It was also in the script to have the deep baritone of Mr.Bachchan tell the story.. many ideas were tossed up and around including doing it as a fireside shadow play or even a puppet performance for which a special song was also recorded.. but the dark tale had to lead to even darker opening sequence.. so it was decided to stick to the somber baritone and animation approach.