Every time a film is made on a historic event, there is a lot of hue and cry about history being misinterpreted and distorted. A film maker like any individual, interprets records on such events from the dimension of converting it into a film which has got potential to be a box-office hit or an Academy-award winner. Further, perceptions of lessons from history vary with every genre.
I think we should focus on what we learn from history rather than try to be judgemental about how historic facts have been represented. Santosh Sivan's Asoka was not a big success but certainly conveyed the message to the common man that, besides being the name of a tree, it was also the name of an empereor.
Gandhi is synonmous with Indian Freedom struggle. But there have been many unsung heroes. And one of them was Mangal Pandey, who ignited the fire for freedom. So the movie on Mangal Pandey might have distorted facts to suit film making but it certainly is informative to the crores of Indians who might have no access to basic education, leave alone Indian History.