Cast & Crew
Cinematography & Direction	Santosh Sivan
Executive Producer	Sanjiv Chawla
Screenplay	Saket Chaudhary, Santosh Sivan
Music	Anu Malik
Lyrics	Gulzar Anand Bakshi ( san sa na nan )
Background Music	Sandeep Chowta
Dialogues	Abbas Tyrewalla
Editor	Shreekar Prasad
Art Director	Sabu Cyril
Action	Shyam Kaushal
Costume Designer	Anu Vardhan, Manish Malhotra (Kareena Kapoor), Naresh Rohira ( Shah Rukh Khan )
Audiography	Rakesh Ranjan
Music Arranged By	Ranjit Barot
Publicity Visual & Designs	Himanshu, Rahul Nanda & Mushtaq Sheikh
Associate Director	Vishnu Vardhan
Post Production Supervisor	Vivek Sharma
Production Controller	Ganpathi Subramanian
Production Executive	Francis Thomas
Script Supervisor	Divya Pande
Visualization & Body Art	Manika Sharma
Casting Director	Ghanteshwar T. Guru
Chief Assistant Directors	Ghanteshwar T. Guru, Manika Sharma & Divya Pande
Writing Poems	Vishal Punjabi
Titles & Special Effects	Rajiv & Tarun Agarwal (Rajtaru Videosonic Limited)
Sound Effect Designer	Dwark Warrier
Chief Legal Advisor	Mr. P. S. Maniar
Chief Accountant	Blesson Oommen
Publicity Stills	Atul Kasbekar
Publicity Stills	Atul Kasbekar, Daboo Ratnani
Production Managers	Milind Vereker, Kundan D. Pai & Anil Sable
Technical Advisor & Promos Edited By	Amitabh Shukla
Foley Recordist	Madhu Apsara
Sound Effect Editors	Umesh Patel, Parikshit Lalwani & Sanjiv Gupta
2nd Unit Director For The Final War	Ravi Deshpandey
2nd Unit Cameramen	S. Krishna & Manoj
Jimmy Jib Operator	A. Prakash Mohapatra
Focus Pulling	Shashi
Stills	Samir Sarkar
Assistant Director	Adoiti Mittal
Property Co - ordinators	Disha Rubein Dass & Karishma Gopinath
Making of Asoka Directed by	Shimit Amin
Shadow Puppet	Meena Nayak
Sincere Thanks For Their Kind Support
Maharaja Shri Pushpraj Singh, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh
Rajendra Jangle, Bhopal
Shriram
Suhas Gujrati
Neelab Kaul
Rambhakta Mishra, Balangir
Sabyasachi Mohapatra, Bhubaneswar
Himanshu Shekhar Guru, Balangir
Preeti Patel, Anjika, Kolkata
Also Starring
Queen (Susima's mother)	Shilpa A. Mehta
Bar Girl ( Aa Tayar Ha Ja )	Rajlaxmi K. Roy
Gypsy Dancer ( Raat Ka Nasha )	Gayathri Jayaraman
Nandaneshwari	Shweta Menon
Giri	Shabir Masani
Sugrata	Viniet Sharma
Sugidha	Vivek Sharma
Nanny	Usha Jejrani
Radhagupta	N. Shyam Sunder
Pandit	C. L. Gurnani
Kalinga Minister	Mithilesh Chaturvedi
Kalinga Minister's goon	P. Mantu Mohapatra
Kalinga Senate Members	Suhas Joshi, Vasant G. Thate, Manoj Lalwani, Mehmood Khan, Darshan Kumar, Yash Kumar, Yogi Singh
Vitasoka	Madhu
Young Asoka	Karan Dewani
Milk Man	Jitendra Shrimali
Milkman's Wife	Shampa
Flower Girl	Monika Kale
Farmers	Jitendra Shastri, Yogesh Sharma, Arun Singh, Nissar
Village Head	Rajendra Mehra
Karuwaki's Dupe	Anu Ansari
Arya's Dupe	Master Hardik
Magadh General	Anjan Ghosh
Wise Man In The Forest	Vijay Kumar
Assassin In The River	Arvind Iyer
Enunch Assassin	Ashok Mapara
Messenger	Samir Sarkar
Thugs	Milind Vereker, S. Krishna
Arya's Father	Balakrishna
Ayra's Mother	Sanghamitra Jena
Devi's Father	Bomie E. Dotiwala
Groom	Bunty
Groom's Father	Col. Suresh Rege
Announcer	Chetna Motiwala
Buddhist Monk	Bahadur
Arya's Caretaker	Mangilal
War Sequences
Sunil & C. V. N. Kalari Group, Nadakkvu, Calicut
Ratan K. Singh & Manipur Group, Anjika Kolkata
Baiju & KuttanduBoat Club, Mampuzhakary, Alleppey
O Re Kanchi Song
Pradeep K. Sarangi & Tendapadar, Balangir, Orissa
Rudramani Sahu & Dhumapali Ghoomra Baja, Saintala, Balangir, Orissa
Rajendra Mohapatra & Ranapa Group, Narendra Pur, Ganjam, Orissa
Keisham Rajomani Singh & Manipuri Group, Anjika, Kolkata
Tadpa Tribal Dancers, Dahanu Road, Maharashtra
Playback Singers	Abhijeet, Alka Yagnik, Chitra, Shann, Sunidhi Chauhan & Hema Sardesai
Processed At	Prasad Film Lab., Chennai
Charterd Accountant	Bimal Parekh & Co.
Bankers	The Vysya Bank, Khar, Mumbai,
	Deutsche Bank, Fort, Mumbai
Make Up	Ravi Indulkar ( Shah Rukh Khan )
	Ritesh ( Kareena Kapoor )
	Radheshyam ( Danny Denzongpa )
	Vinod B. Upadhyay
Kareena Kapoor's Hair Dresser	Rashid Raziuddin
Hair Dressers	Loretta, Pratibha, Jigana
Shah Rukh Khan's Hair Dresser	Dilshad's Saloon
Costumer	Sai Designs, Chennai
Dress Man	Chandrakant S. Varadkar
Office Manager	Veena Sarna
Negative In - Charge	A Madanmohan Prasad ( Prasad Lad. )
Nagra	Prabhash C. Sarangi ( Khokan )
Boom Operator	Prakash C. Sarangi ( Kanu )
Additional Stills	Kamat Photo Flash
Press & Media Publicity	Perfect Relations
Sub Titling	Uma Da. Cunha
Assistants
Music	Bipin Panchal
Choreography	Richie
Art	Sunil Baboo, Manoj Patil, Abdul, Chandra
Action	Pandu, Pali, Hira, Pammi
Acounts	Neel Doctor, Abhijeet Ubale
Production	P. Sunder
Editing	Sanjay Sharma, Sheikh, Idris
Sound	Salim Shaikh, Jahangir Husain
Make Up	Shivaji Jadhav, Bala
Office	Mitchell, Julie Frank
Camera Attendants	Dilip Patil, Anwar Ansari, Rajesh Bajpal, Mukesh Martin, Sushil, Ashok
Jimmy Jib Attendants	Suresh Shetty, Arif Sheikh, Partha
Dress Man	Sanjay, Venkatesh, M. Babu. S. Babu
End Titles	Praful Katdare
Foley Artistes	Karnail Singh, Sajan Chowdhary, R. Gupta, Vikram Viswas
Light Boys	Shaji, Kumar
Artiste Spot Boys	Subhash Jain ( Shah Rukh Khan )
	Prakash ( Kareena Kapoor )
	Charan (Danny Denzongpa)
Spot Boys	Ashok, Kumar, Bahadur, Salim, Ramesh, Haji
Office Boys	Puran Bahadur, Raju, Vishnu, Sakharam
Original Weapons In - Charge	Dr. Hamid Ali Quazi
Junior Artistes & Model Suppliers	Pappu Lekhraj & Company Kasber Dance Academy, Thane
	Molley & Abbas, Options Unlimited
	Mona Irani, Corrine
Post Production	Audeus, Prasad Studio
Songs Recorded At	Sahara Studio, B.R. Digital Spectral Harmony
Food Supplier	Star Cine Caterers
Horse Supplier	Verma & Co.
Indoor Shooting At	Film City, Filmistan Studio, R.K. Studio, Mehboob Studio
Outdoor Shooting	Pachmarhi
	Maheshwar Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
	Konark & Bhubaneshwar, Orissa
	Igat Puri, Maharashtra
	Samod, Rajasthan
	Alleppey, Kerala
Set Material Suppliers	Agarwal Traders
	Art House
	Mapa Planks
	Evergreen Decorators
	Indian Timber & Plywood Centre
	Laxmi Glass House
Equipment Suppliers	Lumiere Lights, Mukta Arts, Jenny Cine Equipments, Status Trading, Yashraj Films, Film Kraft, Anand Cine Service, Dimple Cine Equipments, Discovery Disco & Video Equipments, Brite Trans Power, M.R. Vanities, Movie Action Dummy Effects
Costume Suppliers	H.J. Dresswala, Profesional Hair Product
Insurance	United India Insurance Co. Ltd.
Travels	Rose Travels
	Manoj Car Hire
	Dolphine International, Chennai
	Sandhu Roadways
Asoka The Book	Mushtaq Shiekh
Website	VAIDS Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Images For Book	Samir Sarkar

Kareena Kapoor

Asoka to me is one of India's finest movies to be launched on an international platform. The script, the screenplay, the edit, the music are just a few of the elements that were used to make this movie different. Asoka is not your regular commercial Hindi movie.

However, even though Asoka is not a regular conventional Indian movie, it is very much rich in Indian culture, music, costumes, history and the world famous Indian traits of story telling.

It has been a lifelong dream to work with Santosh Sivan. To me, he is nothing short of a genius when it comes to filmmaking. Asoka would be incomplete without Kaurwaki just as Kareena would be incomplete without Asoka.

It was not playing a legend that lived 2,400 years ago, but the director had his vision of Kaurwaki very clear in his mind, and only he could make me see what Kaurwaki would have been like.

Asoka to me was a challenge. A challenge to perform in a movie, which is built on probably the oldest subject in Indian cinema.

Santosh Sivan

Asoka was the Third Mauryan Emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty (274 - 232 BC).

His is a journey of an ambitious king, who fought the bloody war of Kalinga.
On the battlefield he stood amidst conquered corpses and his realization that a true conquest was by conquering hearts of people led him to spread Buddhism and it's message of love and compassion across the world.

'Asoka', the film attempts to portray Asoka's personal transition from an ambitious prince to a lover, a conqueror and finally a messenger of peace, a changing mind like the change of seasons.

The legends of Asoka are dramatized and presented in a traditional Indian form of storytelling.

Santosh Sivan

MakeUp

"a unique look is what I want for this film. 'Period', yes, but contemporary. A look which echoes of the past and is fresh and inspiring too". These were Santosh's words for the kind of 'look' he wanted for 'Asoka'

When we first met up with Kareena to discuss her 'look' for 'Asoka', I was struggling with the idea of making her look exotic and different, how to enhance the facial features especially the eyes and so on. Santosh had clearly expressed that he wanted no make up at all for any of the women characters in his film. He had also mentioned that he wanted a lot of body art in the film. He had even handed me some 'tattoo kits', which he had picked up during his trips abroad, only a few months before we embarked on 'Asoka'.
This posed a challenge because tattoos had already become a craze in the West. So much so that a mere mention of the word 'tattoo' instantly brings to mind loud images of an obsessive subculture.

I began reading up information on websites as well as some history texts, which talked about the Mauryan Dynasty and the social structure prevalent at the time. At around that time i.e. 274 - 232 BC, the period of Asoka's reign and even in the years prior to that, from the time of Emperor Chandragupta's reign, there was strong influence of Egyptian and Greek civilizations in India. This was especially so in the arena of fashion, the style of dressing and also cosmetics, the use of colors to enhance the facial features. The way the Egyptian queens painted their lips and cuticles red and also used bright colors (blue, green, yellow and gold powder) for their eye lids, the concept of 'eye shadow' perhaps came from there. Although not completely but this trend had reached India through trade and travel, which was at it's height in the Magadhan Empire. In some texts, there is also mention of import of make up, cosmetics from as far as Egypt.
The queens also had elaborate body art in these times. In prominent historian Romila Thapar's book there is also mention of an interesting detail. The queens wore 'heels' and this was a purely Greek / Roman influence.

There was yet another challenge, if there was to be body art incorporated in the film then it would have to be carefully thought out. For instance any design drawn on the body would have to look very 'period', with no lines, shapes or forms that were remotely modern. This was both interesting and tough. I began experimenting with lines and shapes and came up with designs that looked 'period' and not modern in any way. The most interesting and yet simple is the design which I drew on the corners of Kareena's eyes. Since she has green brown eyes, and the design is with black, this made them look even more stark. It also makes her eyes look larger and more prominent as compared to the other features on her face.
During the first schedule in 'Panchmarhi', M.P., I was apprehensive about the body art. Santosh had mentioned how he wanted it subtle and not too overpowering. For this reason I confines the art to the space just below the collar-bone, on the outside arm and the eyes. Occasionally he would ask for a navel drawing or a more elaborate design.
The body art gave the costume an exotic detail and made Kareena look beautifully unique. Santosh then wanted the body art really elaborate in songs such as 'Roshni Se'.
Gradually it became an essential detail of the look of some of the more prominent characters in the film. For instance, 'Bheema' (Rahul Dev) with the sun emblem on his arm, the spade and snake design on 'Giri's' (Shabbir's) forehead, which made him look more evil.
Eye make up also comprised of painting black kohl both on the inside and the outside of the eye, forming a sort of thick rim. The paintings and rare visual references of the time depict the dramatic emphasizing of the women's eyes. The eyes were undoubtedly the most prominently highlighted feature among the women in those times.
This detail makes Kareena look very exotic and Indian. The concept of no make up (foundation or lipstick) works very well with Kareena, as she has a lot of natural contrast on her face.
Overall there is no make up for any of the women characters in the film. Rather than make up, we have attempted to use detailing on the face such as the use of red and black powder for 'tilak', which is more ethnic and Indian.

Shahrukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan is among the few actors who have managed to combine mass with an artiste's passion for creativity and experimentation. An intense performer Shah Rukh today rules world's biggest film industry - Bollywood with his visceral performance ranging from a love-obsessed fanatic to the quintessential romantic hero. His Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge recently became the longest running Hindi film ever. Shah Rukh's passion for film is not restricted to acting. He understands the true potential of the cinematic medium and its importance in shaping reality. Armed with this belief, Shah Rukh is already an active catalyst in the growth of Indian film industry. A versatile acto, a mega star, an astute businessman, a visionary-Shah Rukh Khan dares to dream...unlimited !

 

Juhi Chawla

Former Miss India Juhi Chawla is one of India's most adored film actresses. Her debut film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak brought back the trend of gossamer romance to Indian screen. Since then she has gone from strength to strength enthralling the audience with her spunky performance. She has the perennial Indian girl-next-door image which has endure and endeared over the years. Juhi's objective to be an active participant in movie making is manifest from her recent foray into production. She has balance her effervescent on-screen persona by lending her special involvement in every aspect of film production and planning.