khnum3 As a Bolywood production and living in East Europe,this film was surprisingly easy to find (saw the name from a game and typed "Asoka" in the Internet)which meant it could be a good one.In fact it really was.In the genre bar is showed romance,drama,action,(even)musical but drama is most of the plot.Here is my review of "Asoka"(2001). The Plot-Be careful here!The movie is not for fragile hearts.It is directed good (by Saket Chaudhary and Santosh Sivan),it's like seeing all the important moments of a man,even for The Antiquity.The first love,the family,the friends and for the historical period-the war.Now now,I don't know much about Indian history but I have heard of emperor Asoka as a great ruler and the first Buddhist emperor who was good to his people and made trades with the Greeks,Egyptians and Romans.In the beginning of the film is said that there are some fictional moments but I think this is a good move.All the drama...just...you could feel it.With many ground-shaking and symbol moments from when Asoka cries in his-own hands full of ashes because of the idea his wife is dead or when his mother got killed by the Brahman or even the last scene-I will not reveal it because is the top point. The main role played by Shahrukh Han is represented excellent-all the emotions,eye-moving gestures are great.Kareena Kapoor playing as main female role is doing pretty well too.We could not say who is the real villain in the story,is it the greedy brother,Asoka's self destructing emotion of hopeless or Virat-the best friend,who is played by Danny Denzongpa and whose character develops from scoundrel bandit with freakish head noises to a good man.Not to forget Sooraj Balaji and his role like the young prince Arya.The other cast is also playing well.There are some 3 warriors-representing the society,Asoka's mother,the bodyguard of Arya and his sister-Bheem(a) - in Hindi the last "a" in male names doesn't spoken. The message of the film isn't just one.There are a few life lessons and wisdom you could learn.As Buddha says better to learn something before move on. My personal favorite characters are Asoka-himself and the bar girl which only sings a very catchy song-Aa Tayar Hoja-my favorite from all the 6 in the movie.Yes there are 6 songs long by 4 minutes but aren't boring.The atmosphere is good. The only 2 things i didn't like are the costumes-come on they could do better-like in the scene from the bar when the bar girl,somehow for 0,0001 seconds changed her dress from blue to orange-pink-and the connection with the title,especially "the great" part.We don't see when Asoka becomes a good emperor or maharajah but I think is about the historical sources.Anyway. The movie is great.You could learn a lot of things from Indian culture-like singing,a lot, to a life lesson.It is great for a rainy day or a long night.Don't be afraid of the merely 3 hours.It's worth it.

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.

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.

meena0047 I love the film ASOKA because it was a very special film! King Khan's performance was excellent+! The songs and dances were exotic! King Khan really have the face of the king, and his name is the perfect name for him. Originally, I am from Kerala India and I really enjoyed watching Kallari because I haven't seen any films with Kallari since I have moved to Alaska. At the end, I was bursting into tears but I watched ASOKA several times. I do not understand why Asoka was placed second to Amir Khan's film. I watched that film too and I thought it was just an okay film. I am still curious about what happened to Asoka, Karwaki, Devi and the children. Is there a chance for Asoka II?Meena