CriticGirl91 This film takes prime spot in my list of worst films ever. It is not about Asoka the great, but Asoka the shallow, annoying fool. I am sure that the legendary King Ashok must be turning in his grave after the release of this film. My biggest objection to this film is that all it does is touch upon the fact that Ashok decided to sacrifice violence for the sake of peace. This should have been the main focus of the film for this is the main attraction of the legend. Instead, the director portrays a run off the mill love story, guiding it under the name of a great personality to sell a very mundane affair. This film suffers on all counts. I'll try to make it brief. Beginning with the glaring aspects, the film has absolutely no budget to speak off. Kings and commoners look alike, all seem to be beggars which is attempted to be compensated under the name of realism. Acting is pathetic, with Shahrukh doing his routine over the top tactics, and Kareena struggling to emote in a single scene. Rahul Dev and the rest of the cast are as bad as ever. The story conveys nothing about the political drama of the time, and simply moves from one cliché bollywood scene to another. The dialogues and songs have absolutely no authenticity, and are difficult to relate to a historical film. Coming to Asoka, the lead character of this film who dominates ninety nine percent of the screen space (others are there only because the director had to show the faces of those mentioned on history), his portrayal is one of the most ridiculous ever even by Hindi cinema standards. He loves nothing more than his sword in childhood, decides to give it up behind a weird girl, decides to give up his loyalty to her for a girl who is rejected by her suitor, decides to give up his wife and children to avenge his mother's death, and finally decides to give up his victory for his old darling and her innocent brother. Phew! I wish they'd given up on making this film at some point. Talking about other characters, Kaurwaki whines and sobs through the film and surprisingly; after a complete scene of the mutual decision of Kalingans to participate in the war, men and women alike; we are told that she is responsible for bringing the women into the war!? She learns to fight from Asoka, learns that she is adopted, but does nothing to help Kalingans until after the damage is done. Devi is the harbinger of peace who is the master of emotional blackmail in this film. She, supposedly unintentionally, takes a break early on in her wedding to give Asoka medicine and ends up marrying him due to 'unforeseen' circumstances. She also promises to keep her children away from Asoka to prevent him from ending his own lineage, and we are told in the end that his children helped him in his peace mission without any explanation for the same. Dharma is the lady who existed only to die in this film. Virat is the supposed comedian who never looks funny, and turns unexpectedly heroic at the end. He alongwith the routine comedians, appear to be creepy leeches who cannot pass off as funny going even by the lowest of standards. Sushim is another character only meant to die. This is one of the first films that gives no development or qualities to the protagonist, that would strengthen the hero's character. With a heavy heart, I must admit that a very silly current serial on the life of Ashok is a thousand times better than this film. In terms of budget, performances and even the fantasy based characterization. Another example of the hotshots in Hindi cinema taking their fame for granted.

Kaustubh Mone inane dialogue delivery.. most actors barely touch the surface of the characters they play.. song and dance (though some of the songs are very enjoyable and melodious).. nowhere close to the story of the greatest emperor to rule the largest area ever ruled by a subcontinental power - an empire larger than that of Aurangzeb, or the British, or present-day India.. a rather tame tribute this movie is, to the man honoured prolifically by the Republic of India, that chose his symbol as its national symbol after independence.. disappointing movie really.. still, there are some redeeming features - shahrukh khan isn't too bad.. the battle sequences aren't ridiculous.. and the music is probably Anu Malik's best work.. and of course we get gripped by the tale despite it sticking very loosely to the actual historical narrative.. maybe I was expecting too much

Avinash Patalay When the ace cinematographer holds the megaphone what would you expect? Nothing but ethereal beauty on the silver screen. SRK:: For once he should be appreciated to have backed the project as a producer. All things said and done, it cannot be denied that he has taken leap of faith number of times in his career resulting in phenomenal success in his graph. Yes, Asoka falls into the same category. He gives his best to breathe life into the character of Asoka. The character is shown to be torn between the love for his mother, Kaurwaki and motherland. Kareena Kapoor:: Certainly you would carry the image of Kaurwaki for a few decades to come. Last time it was Rekha in "Utsav" and maybe Vyjayanthimala in "Amrapali". The cinematographer has left no stone unturned to present her in the best light possible. Her character is fleshed out strongly and therefore Kareena gets lots of scope to showcase her talent. Danny:: Reliable.Rahul Dev:: Good writing was warranted to make the character leave an lasting impression. Otherwise he demonstrated a well-chiselled frame.Hrishita Bhatt: Decent performance considering the scope of her character. Sadly Asoka could not do much value-addition to her standing in Bollywood.Ajith:: Down-south I am sure he was a huge heart-throb. Sadly went un- noticed in Bollywood. Additionally there was no meat in the character. Enigmatic lyrics were translated into melodious numbers by Anu Mallik, they were in top-form indeed,. Chroreography was top-notch. Special mention to Gayatri Jayaraman and Rajlaxmi R. Roy who featured in the "Raat Ka Nasha" & "Aa Tayar Ho Ja" songs. Sadly 'Asoka' ended up being compared to 'Lagaan' which released around the same time and therefore did not garner the due patrons.

HeadleyLamarr Asoka is an amazing film of epic proportions that charts the journey of a man from arrogant prince to romantic ordinary man to cruel emperor to penitent reformer. This is a roller-coaster ride set in a time and about a man not much written of in the history books. Most records of the time are in the form of rock carvings that he erected. Asoka is the son of a lesser queen of Bindusara - the Magadh emperor. He is engaged in bitter rivalry with his step brothers and is sent off to live like a common man as his mother fears for his life. There he meets another exiled royal family from Kalinga, falls in love with Princess Kaurwaki and marries her. He is summoned back by the emperor and due to the machinations of the Kalinga minster loses track of Kaurwaki. He is injured in an attack planned by his step brothers, nursed back to health by a Buddhist girl and eventually marries her. After yet another attack by his step brothers he goes on a rampage and kills off his step brothers, then wages a fierce battle with Kalinga. It is at the end of this bloody battle that he renounces war and vows to spread the message of peace.The film ends at the point of his transformation to a peace loving man and is Asoka's journey from boyhood to manhood. Santosh Sivan crafted an amazing film around these few known facts of Asoka's life. Much is interpretation and the film is imbued with a brilliance and depth that I found fascinating. The cinematography is excellent, the settings most authentic in the rock caves, old stone palaces, the unspoilt outdoors. In fact the film is the antithesis of Devdas in how minimalist the settings are. The Kalinga battle is an exhilarating mix of dreamy slow motion and brutal quick action and has maximum impact. All the other fight scenes are outstanding too.The acting is excellent throughout. Kareena is luminous as Kaurwaki - with minimal adornment she manages to look ravishing and gives an excellent performance. She shines as the princess who is learning swordplay, as the woman who is searching for her lover. Shahrukh delivers an outstanding performance as the young carefree prince, the bemused lover, as the cruel prince and emperor and finally as the penitent. This role gives him the opportunity to explore the entire range of his acting repertoire and to do it in an outstanding fashion. "Sushima, I have killed all my brothers, can I sit on the throne now?" will send chills down your spine. Hrishitaa Bhatt is excellent in her small role as Devi, Ajith Kumar gives a fine performance as Sushima, also worth mention are Danny Denzongpa as Virat, and Rahul Dev as Bheema. But the one actor that I will not forget is the child star Suraj Balaji who did an excellent job as the young prince Arya.Anu Malik created some fine tunes for this film - the music is not as pure as it could be but I still love it. My favorite numbers are Raat Ka Nasha Abhi, San Sannananna, and Roshni Se Bhare. Roshni Se is picturized in an amazing manner.All in all, despite all the controversy surrounding this film, it remains one of my favorite epics, a high quality film that is worth many a repeat watch.