Like the character she portrayed, Liesel Matthews (Sara) came from a wealthy background. Matthews, whose real name is Liesel Pritzker, is the granddaughter of the rich industrialist A. N. Pritzker and the niece of Jay Pritzker, the founder of the Hyatt Hotel chain. After a family dispute and lawsuit in her early twenties, Liesel inherited approximately $500 million of her family's fortune. She later became a philanthropist, particularly active in India--a country that her character Sara also loved--and established several educational and development charities.
In the fairy tale that Sara narrates throughout the film, her parents play the main characters: her father portrays the prince, while her late mother plays the princess.
The stores on the film's main street are named after various crew members.
The name Sara / Sarah means "Noble lady, Precious, Pure, Excellent, Wealth, Princess' in Urdu, one of the major languages in India.
Ram Dass' monkey is named Hanuman, the monkey god who aided Prince Rama in rescuing Sita from Ravana in "The Ramayana."