Like AKS and LAGAAN this year, ASOKA is brilliant technically. The cinematography. The art direction and period costumes. The audio and visual effects are up to par with Hollywood flicks. The use of background score and lighting. Overall production is very crisp.<br /><br />Along with those other films, I think 2001 has been a watershed year in terms of Indian cinema advancement...kind of like 1999 was for Hollywood movies (THE MATRIX, JOHN MALKOVICH, SIXTH SENSE). Especially, when you put it into perspective of some of the really BAD and embarrasing films of the 80's that you wouldn't have dared show your non-Indian friends. Throw in films like GADAR and DIL CHATHA HAI...that were very good movies in different ways, and you have to start respecting the Bollywood Film Industry.<br /><br /> Definitely worth seeing on the big screen. Would've been REALLY cool if we could've seen it in IMAX format in NYC.<br /><br /> Storywise, this is the really the first big budget Indian Epic that I can remember...very strongly influenced by GLADIATOR. Based in another period (3rd Century BC), An heir to the throne is threatened by the presence of a more capable, beloved, and decorated military commander who he tries to get rid of by all means necessary -- eventually getting him exiled (of sorts) where he becomes a commoner. It had the aspects of a historical epic that you'd expect -- love, betrayal, war.<br /><br /> The storyline got lost at times during some non-essential, tangential, and unnecessarily stretched out segments and some aspects regarding the rivalry between Asoka and his older brother Susima is underdeveloped. The movie could have been much more effective if shortened (like GADAR and LAGAAN) without losing anything. In fact, doing so would probably make it much more appealing to a Western audience. But Shah Rukh pulled off the role of Asoka very well, weakening my argument that he's a one-dimensional actor. I didn't think Kareena was the best choice Kaulwaki....although I can't really think of many of today's actresses that would have done a good job (I think Sridevi in her prime would have been awesome). And who was this new actress that played Shah Rukh's Buddhist wife, Devi? Whoa. My cousin hit it dead on when she said that she (I just looked it up on the internet, her name is Hrishitaa Bhatt) looked like an Indian Alyssa Milano (who I was totally in love with when I was 12 years old during the 80's TV show Who's the Boss?). Okay, otherwise, she wasn't very compelling as an actress...but "she looked good!"<br /><br /> Overall, I really thought highly of this movie for it's technical and artistic content and I would recommend either watching it on the big screen or on DVD to really appreciate the best aspects. To watch it on one of those really grainy fourthhand pirated videotapes would be a waste...