In their first film together, Tabu and Amitabh Bachchan were a delightful comedy duo in Cheeni Kum. Once again the wheels of Bollywood have brought them together, this time in a lavish period film based on the life of the Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka.

The reclusive Tabu has signed on to play the role of the emperor’s wife Queen Tishyarakshita, and Big B will be Ashoka the Great, of course. Critics and fans alike can't wait to see if they recreate their magic on screen again.

Although there is quite a generation gap between the two (Tabu is 38 and Bachchan will be 66), the two made years between them melt away in Cheeni Kum. Now they turning back the years in another way by going back several centuries in The Legend of Kunal, a historical film directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi and produced by AB Corp Ltd.

The director Dwivedi said, "Tabu didn't hesitate a moment to say yes to the role of the Emperor's powerful wife who swayed the Mauryan empire with her beauty and politics. We needed an actress with the strength of conviction. Tishyarakshita was unique and such an extraordinary and enigmatic character has never found expression in our cinema."

Said Dwivedi, "History and its cinematic treatment demand the characters to be true to their antecedents. And Emperor Ashoka, who's caught in his twilight years in my film, had to be played by Bachchan.

Only he possesses the gravity, sobriety, wisdom and personality along with the age required. I wouldn't make Ashoka without him. As for Tabu, she plays his young, fiery and assertive wife. Again, only she could play Tishyarakshita."