Producers asked why I was making Shah Rukh Khan’s Asoka where no one wins, recalls Santosh Sivan: ‘Kareena Kapoor wasn’t available during war scenes’

Although the movie did not achieve massive critical or commercial success upon release, despite the presence of Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles, director Santosh Sivan’s Asoka (2001) has garnered something of a cult following over the years. However, the cinematographer-turned-filmmaker recently revealed that making Asoka was not an entirely pleasant experience for him.

“When I was gearing up to make Asoka, I was asked by the people producing it, ‘Why do you want to make a film where no one wins the war? If I am watching a war film between the Germans and the English, I would want the English to win. Someone has to be winning.’ You can’t make a film where no one wins, it’s a draw, or there’s no outcome.’ So, a lot of people did not want me to get into it (the film) because it wasn’t very commercial. But I thought that the story was very interesting. I also wanted to take Asoka and split him into someone who’s very romantic, especially when there’s a monsoon and it’s misty,” he said during a chat with a YouTube channel.

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Speaking about filming the scenes depicting the Kalinga war, Santosh noted that it was particularly challenging, especially with big stars involved. “Kareena was not available when we were shooting the war. So, I had to shoot most of it in Film City. All those things happened. You have to adjust and, of course, try to work it out,” he added. While Shah Rukh Khan depicted Asoka, the Emperor of Magadha and the third ruler of the Mauryan dynasty, who played a pivotal role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia, Kareena Kapoor portrayed Karuvaki, the “second Queen Consort” of Asoka.

The film also starred Danny Denzongpa, Rahul Dev, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Gerson Da Cunha, Subhashini Ali and Umesh Mehra in key roles, with a special appearance by Tamil star Ajith Kumar. Asoka featured cinematography by Santosh Sivan himself, editing by A Sreekar Prasad, music by Anu Malik and a background score by Sandeep Chowta.