Ashoka the Great (2001)

The epic tale of King Asoka's life is recounted here.

Director:

Santosh Sivan

Writers:

Saket Chaudhary (screenplay), Santosh Sivan (screenplay)

Stars:

Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Danny Denzongpa

2 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shah Rukh Khan	...	Asoka
Kareena Kapoor	...	Kaurwaki (as Karriena Kapoor)
Danny Denzongpa	...	Virat
Rahul Dev	...	Bheema
Hrishitaa Bhatt	...	Devi
Gerson Da Cunha	...	King Bindusara (as Gerson da' Cunha)
Subhashini Ali	...	Dharma (as Subhashini)
Umesh Mehra	...	Emperor Chadragupta
Sooraj Balaji	...	Prince Aryan
Johnny Lever	...	Magadha Soldier
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Magadha Soldier
Suresh Menon	...	Magadha Soldier
Ajith Kumar	...	Susima
Shilpa Mehta	...	Queen - Susima's Mother (as Shilpa A. Mehta)
Rajlaxmi R. Roy	...	Bar Girl (Aa Tayar Ho Ja)

Storyline

Prince Ashoke (Shahrukh Khan), heir to the Magadha Kingdom, bowing to his mother's (Shilpa Mehta) demand forsakes his princely status and goes to live in the wild for awhile. There he meets and falls in love with Kaurwaki (Kareena Kapoor). He identifies himself as Pawan, not wanting to disclose his identity yet. Ashoke has to return to Magadha, but when he returns to find and wed Kaurwaki, he is told by Bheema (Rahul Dev) that Kaurwaki and her brother Arya have been killed. Devastated Ashoke returns home. On the way home he is attacked and Devi (Hrishitaa Bhatt), of the Buddhist faith rescues him and tends to him till he gets well. As a result, Devi's marriage to her groom is cancelled. Ashoke weds her and brings her to Magadha, only to be told by his father that since Devi is not of the same race as he, she cannot be welcomed. Ashoke leaves with Devi and lives in Ujjaini. Soon Devi gets pregnant, and this arouses jealously and hatred amongst Ashoke's step-brothers. As a result they ...

---

Plot Keywords:

indian history | character name as title | one word title | prince | empire | 

---

Taglines:

Only the dead have seen the end of war.

---

Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | Romance | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

26 October 2001 (India)

Also Known As:

Ashoka the Great

Filming Locations:

Film City, Goregaon, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Budget:

INR 130,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$337,464, 28 October 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$702,777, 11 November 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arclightz and Films Pvt. Ltd., Dreamz Unlimited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

169 min (International) 180 min (uncut) 155 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shah Rukh Khan initially wanted Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play the female lead. But then he and the director decided to offer the role to Karisma Kapoor. She rejected it and it eventually went to her sister Kareena Kapoor.

---

Alternate Versions

International version runs 150 minutes. Uncut version runs 180 minutes

---

Connections

Referenced in Dulha Mil Gaya (2010)

---

Soundtracks

O Re Kanchi
Written by Gulzar
Composed by Anu Malik
Performed by Shaan, Suneeta Rao (as Sunita Rao) and Alka Yagnik
Courtesy of Sony Music India

User Reviews

Impressive

This film is not intended to be derogatory towards Buddhists, but does indeed enact the historical beginnings of Buddhism. King Ashoka was a vicious warrior before he was shown the 8-fold path but his conversion did not occur until much blood was spilled in his land. It is unfortunate that other viewers have a skewed version of the conception of Buddhism and take this film to be negative. Nevertheless, I was impressed at the historical accuracy, the strength of the acting, and the vividness in the vision of the director. He chooses very unique positions to shoot the scenes and uses stop-time in very emotionally effective manners. I recommend this film not only for the story but for the visual elements and as an example of an Indian film that offers more than just song and dance.