Aśoka (2001) on Netflix
Prince Asoka fights his father's wars while his half-brother Susima schemes for the throne. Sent from the capital, Asoka hides his name and meets Kaurwaki, a princess on the run from Kalinga.
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb6.4/1016,382 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Chandragupta Maurya gives up his throne to become a Jainist monk, and warns his grandson Asoka that the sword the boy keeps demands blood. Asoka grows up to command his father Bindusara's army at Takshashila and wins the battle, though the reinforcements his half-brother Susima held back never arrive. At the capital, Susima's anger turns into an attempt on Asoka's life, and empress Dharma, fearing for her son, makes him leave the city. Traveling as an ordinary man called Pawan, Asoka meets Kaurwaki and her brother Arya, heirs of Kalinga who fled their kingdom with their protector Bheema after the prime minister took power. Asoka keeps his true name from them and stays at Kaurwaki's side.
Cast
- Sooraj Balajias Prince Aryan
- Gerson Da Cunhaas King Bindusara
- Subhashini Alias Dharma
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Aśoka (2001)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Shah Rukh Khan was cast as Asoka after director Santosh Sivan approached him between shots while Khan was dancing in a train for the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se..; Khan said Sivan's determination hooked him.
- Costume designer Anu Vardhan had light metal jackets of special fibre glass made for around 4,000 members of the cast, produced in Madras by more than 50 workers.
- The elaborate final battle scene, fought against the Kalingas, employed over six thousand extras and hundreds of elephants.
- Some of the actors playing warriors in the film were masters of Kalari, and they were the only performers who used real weapons during the filming.
- Production designer Sabu Cyril gave Magadha black granite temples and houses and Kalinga brown sandstone and earth tones, and worked with only six pillars in the whole film.
- A. R. Rahman was initially signed to compose the music of Asoka but opted out for reasons unknown.
