| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Shah Rukh Khan | ... | ||
| Kareena Kapoor Khan | ... |
Kaurwaki
(as Karriena Kapoor)
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| Danny Denzongpa | ... | ||
| Rahul Dev | ... | ||
| Hrishitaa Bhatt | ... | ||
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Gerson Da Cunha | ... |
King Bindusara
(as Gerson da' Cunha)
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Subhashini Ali | ... |
Dharma
(as Subhashini)
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Umesh Mehra | ... |
Emperor Chadragupta
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Sooraj Balaji | ... |
Prince Aryan
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| Johnny Lever | ... |
Magadha Soldier
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| Raghuvir Yadav | ... |
Magadha Soldier
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| Suresh Menon | ... |
Magadha Soldier
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| Ajith Kumar | ... | ||
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Shilpa Mehta | ... |
Queen - Susima's Mother
(as Shilpa A. Mehta)
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| Rajlaxmi R. Roy | ... |
Bar Girl (Aa Tayar Ho Ja)
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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 ... Written by rAjOo ([email protected])
It's really hard for me to evaluate Indian films. Although they appeal to me, I live in a world totally alien to theirs. What I see as a film being interrupted by unnecessary music videos, they might see as the marriage of two vibrant, vital aspects of their culture.
That said, Asoka is a film that I enjoyed very much. The story is epic, complex, and deeply layered, and it almost had me crying in the end (VERY few films can do this). The cast is fantastic, and they did an excellent job. The costumes and the sets were equally great. It's runtime is at 2 hours 45 minutes, but I was left hoping it was going to go a little bit longer. I wanted to know what happened to Davi, and I wanted to learn a few things from Asoka's latter days --when he embarked on his journey towards peace.
This film is great, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.