October 8 was Shah Rukh Khan's wife, Gauri's birthday. And on this day this year, Shah Rukh saw the first trial of Mohabbatein. SRK was rather elated to see how great a film Aditya Chopra had made.
He was happy that Diwali was finally clearing things up. The Hrithik mania was cooling down and people were looking forward to Mohabbatein.
But it looks like SRK's elation is going to be short-lived. The actor has put his heart and soul in his home production, the Santosh Sivan-directed Ashoka. The least that he would expect is a Water like trouble to jack the film.
When it comes to documented historical facts, the Indian milieu's strong sense of culture does not permit personalized interpretations. Ashoka happens to be a victim of just that. The film traces the love angle in king Ashoka's life that is lent by princess Karubaki. When Ashoka learns that Karubaki has her emotions reserved for another Kalinga prince, he invades Kalinga to capture her.
SRK was shooting with his unit in Dhauli and Khandagiri mountain ranges near the Orissa capital Bhubaneswar, when the opposition arose. The local culture pundits were upset that they were not consulted over the correctness of the script on the Kalinga war.
Meanwhile, eminent historian and Congress MP M N Das has expressed shock over the fact that the government has let a script that distorts history pass easily. According to him, Karubaki was not a princess. She was a Buddhist woman who played the pivotal role of pushing Ashoka towards the religious path.
The opposition was first noticed in the local newspapers where politicians and historians voiced their feelings about their city and history being misrepresented by Sivan in his film. The protests however, have been peaceful with nobody trying to disrupt shooting or humiliating the film's team.
October 8 was Shah Rukh Khan's wife, Gauri's birthday. And on this day this year, Shah Rukh saw the first trial of Mohabbatein. SRK was rather elated to see how great a film Aditya Chopra had made. 