Aśoka

Aśoka is a historical drama about a young prince of the Maurya dynasty who is trained for battle while his family argues over the succession. His mother, fearing for his safety, sends him away from the court to live as an ordinary man. In exile he meets Kaurwaki, a princess on the run, and falls in love with her. Their time together is cut short when he is recalled home, and a tangle of conspiracies follows, leading him to the throne and setting him on the road to the Kalinga war. The film is named for the emperor whose reign is dated to the third century BC.

Santosh Sivan directed and co-wrote the film with Saket Chaudhary, and it was produced by Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla Mehta through Red Chillies Entertainment. Shah Rukh Khan stars as Ashoka, with Ajith Kumar as his brother Susima, Kareena Kapoor Khan as Kaurwaki, Hrishitaa Bhatt as Devi and Danny Denzongpa as Virat.

Made for about 17 million dollars, it took roughly 19 million dollars worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 6.4 from around 16,000 votes and on TMDB 6.5 from about 170. A small group of critics rated it considerably higher, at 7.6 from 10 reviews.