It's one of the myths that permeates Western culture. I'm sure someone sufficiently well-trained in Sanskrit classics could find themes from the Mahabharata in the biggest Bollywood blockbusters, and Buddhist and Confucian themes surface in Japanese literature and film all the time. You have to include some of these big cultural touchstones to give a story staying power (e.g. Western stories which reference Shakespeare, the Bible, or Greek myth will remain relevant for centuries; conversely, Blaxploitation and early 90's superhero films are already no longer culturally relevant, and are viewed mainly as curiosities or as cult classics, if they're lucky).