It is a dramatized version of the early life of emperor Ashoka, of the Maurya Empire, who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE.
The film stars Shah Rukh Khan as the titular character alongside Kareena Kapoor, Rahul Dev, Danny Denzongpa, Hrishitaa Bhatt with Ajith Kumar in a special appearance.
He figures that his elder half-brother Susima Maurya, who also has an eye on the throne of the empire, has deliberately withheld reinforcements from arriving, but defeats the enemy nevertheless.
Kaurwaki and Arya are the princess and prince of Kalinga, who fled from their kingdom when the prime minister assassinated their parents and took over power.
A few months later, princess Kaurwaki and prince Arya return to Kalinga with Bheema and have the prime minister executed for treason.
Though Vardhan agrees that there was no concept of wearing vests during that era, certain cinematic liberties had been taken because Shahrukh did not wanted to shoot shirtless throughout the film.
During Shah Rukh's forest sequences, he wears square pieces of a blanket-like-material, folded into two and cut in between, to pass around the neck.
The armours and shields are worn by the artistes also form an important part of the costume for the final war sequences.
[6] "I also tried to give the different parts of the film different looks: for example when the viewer is taken to Magadha (Bihar), the temples and houses have been made using black granite while when we are in Kalinga (Orissa) I have used brown sandstone and earth tones to generate a different feel.
[7] The film was shot at various locations, such as Pachmarhi (the bulk of the romance between Asoka and the princess), Maheshwar (the palace intrigues of Pataliputra), Madhya Pradesh, Jaipur (battle scenes), Igatpuri and Bhubaneswar (the Kalinga portions).
The song "Raat Ka Nasha" was picturised at Bhedaghat and Panchmarhi in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh amidst the Narmada River.
The soundtrack was very successful and according to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 1,500,000 units sold, the album was one of the year's the highest-selling.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called the film "a big, brash and deeply enjoyable Bollywood epic".
He stated, "This movie's narrative gusto, its intricate, indirect eroticism – no sex, or even kissing – its lavish musical numbers and its sheer self-belief are a treat.
"[19] Neil Smith described the film; "with elements of both Gandhi (1982) and Braveheart (1995), Asoka is a big, sprawling epic that looks every rupee it took to bring it to the screen.
"[20] However, BBC's Santosh Sinha noted, "It is at this point in the film [when the prince go into hiding as per the request of the mother Queen] that Asoka is temporarily lost and Shahrukh Khan the actor takes over.
He [Khan] is also less convincing when, grieved by the loss of life in Kalinga, he renounces violence and vows to spread the message of peace far and wide.
Journalist, editor and film trade analyst Taran Adarsh wrote that "director Santosh Sivan has chosen a historical subject, but added his spice and come up with a fairytale kind of a flick.
The film leaves its many complex moments unexplored and disjointed, choosing to pitch it as a love story instead of an epic tale of war and peace," an Indian reviewer wrote.
[23] Variety's David Rooney states, "a sprawling widescreen historical epic laced with Bollywood musical numbers, melodramatic romance, spectacular locations and violent battle scenes.
Coming on the heels of Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, Asoka provides further evidence that Bollywood is poised for wider commercial impact beyond its already substantial established niche.
And while the ambling, uneconomical nature of popular Indian storytelling makes major crossover business unlikely in this case, some degree of general art-house attention appears indicated.
At the same time, Kapoor plays ornately tattooed Kaurwaki as a lively mix of flirtatious coquette and feisty warrior woman, kind of like Jennifer Lopez meets Michelle Yeoh.
It states,"Santosh Sivan may just be the man who provides that elusive Indian crossover hit with this rip-roaring historical adventure.
The fact that Asoka was such a bloody warrior is no more ably demonstrated than when the battle scenes kick in near the end, it's like Akira Kurosawa goes Bollywood.
[22] "Asoka had embraced Buddhism long after the Kaling War, and yet, as far as historical accuracy is concerned, there's a surprising result: though the whole Pawan/Kaurwaki episode is fantasy, the film mostly avoids messing around with the known facts", wrote historian Alex von Tunzelmann.