ASOKA: THE LEGEND, THE FILM, THE BOOK
Its A First For Bollywood

In what could only be called a first in Bollywood, the release of one of this year's most eagerly anticipated films is embellished with fine textual dressing. Following a trend that has predominantly found its niche in big-budget Hollywood merchandising and promotion, Arclightz & Films have entered into a deal with Harper-Collins to publish a book by Mushtaq Sheikh called The Making Of Asoka, to mark the release of ace director and cinematographer Santosh Sivan's magnum opus Asoka.

A journey that forges into the life and times of the country during the rule of India's greatest emperor, Asoka aims to turn the spotlight on, not only on the king's ceaseless endeavours to redefine fledgling humanitarian ideals, but also to glean a more intimate impression of the man behind the monarch.

The film in its recreation of history, is an attempt to revitalise the nation's drooping interest in its glorious past. Taking what is only an emblem etched on a national flag to today's youth and sprinkling it with a generous glimpse of old world memoirs enveloped in super-slick production values, Asoka aims to find its audience in a pasticcio of Indian and international masses, spanning several generations.

With limited records of his life before his brush with Buddhism, researching the emperor for every single detail of his days was a challenge for Sheikh, one that has produced fantabulous results, in the form of coffee table and paperback reading. The Making Of Asoka is not only a detailed and laudable venture into the Emperor's era, it also presents a strong and witty account of the making of the film right down to its final garnishing of post-production notes. The author has also speckled the book with a pot-pourri of recollections by the cast and the crew of Asoka as they went about shooting in different nooks and corners of the country, besides talking to proud producers Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla about the realization of their dreamz to bring the king to life on celluloid.

The book is further nurtured to an ocular delight by its rich layouts adorned by the myriad hues of M. F. Hussain's brush, as he captures different phases of Asoka's life in paintings printed to perfection, gently absorbing the reader as he drifts through its pages. In keeping with the filmmakers' urge to draw their viewer into the world of their creation without alienating him with layers of oft-repeated fact, the book is a fascinating amalgamation of text and art, one that most connoisseurs would enjoy seeing on their bookshelves.

The Making Of Asoka is an all new and definitely improved effort to elevate the standards of contemporary commercial film literature, and an ode to refined and upbeat movie merchandising, one that promises to pave the way for many more to come.

A SLICE OF HISTORY:
For those of you with a taste for yore, here's a brief glimpse of what The Making Of Asoka has in store for you:

Chapter I: PRELUDE TO A LEGEND:
The book begins with a sturdily chronicled account of India as it was about two thousand years ago. From the empire of Magadha, the chapter nimbly treads historical territory tracing the insult of Chanakya in Emperor Nanda's court, all the way to the ascent of Chandragupta Maurya as the first emperor of his race. It then documents the life story of King Bindusara (Asoka's father), before settling on Asoka himself, describing his childhood years with his brother Susima. It highlights the king as an administrative and battlefield stalwart, trailing his victories in Taxila and Ujjain. The chapter touches its final crescendo with Asoka's triumph in the war of Kalinga, one that captures the essence of his greatest personal defeat before taking him away from a life of conflict to one of peace as he embraced Buddhism to preach dharma and ahimsa.

Chapter II: MYTH O'LOGIC
This chapter is dedicated to the mythology that shrouds the emperor's life before he became a ruler. While most data on Asoka is relegated to the edicts of his creation after he surrendered to Buddhism, the king's life has been documented in numerous mythical tales, most of which paint a grisly picture of the ruthlessness of his reign, some of which can be rediscovered in this section.

Chapter III: THE IDEA OF ASOKA
Cinematic genius Santosh Sivan talks exclusively about the translation of a historical epoch into a polished and packaged commercial Bollywood presentation. He shares his secrets on what drove him to mastermind the film, besides documenting his passion for movie making and the methodology he adopted to resurrect the life of the emperor.

Chapter IV: ROYAL IMPRESSIONS
Producers Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla lend their voice to this chapter tracing the inception of the film sharing experiences that make Asoka the mega movie it promises to be. The chapter also carries interviews with Ajith and other actors as they discuss their contributions to the film and its place in their hearts.

Chapter V: MAJESTIC MANOEUVERS
A heartwarming peek into the making of the film, this chapter follows the cast and the crew of Asoka through their numerous trysts and adventures, with behind-the-scenes trivia and hilarious anecdotes in keeping with the spirit behind the shooting of the movie.

Chapter VI: SCENE STEALERS
Director Santosh Sivan and Producer-actor Shah Rukh Khan put their heads together and pop up with their five favourite scenes in Asoka, exploring numerous facets of filmmaking in the process.

Chapter VII: THE BIG FIGHT
This chapter offers a bird's eye view on the most elaborate and expensive war sequence ever to be shot in Hindi film history, liberally doused with observations and notes from the author himself as he takes in the magnitude of the shooting.

Chapter VIII: MIND OVER MATTER
Long after the shooting of the film, the author pursues the final touches that make the movie a complete package, recounting the post-production of Asoka through its sojourn in the editing room, sound recording and mixing besides stealing a glance at what goes into parcelling a film into a finished product by way of publicity and promotion.

Chapter IX: EPILOGUE
The experience of breathing life into the character of India's greatest king was a task few would have been able to take on. Shah Rukh Khan paints an intimate picture of the man he wore to the screen like second skin as he tried to recapture the pith of the legend we know as Asoka.

WRITTEN BY ANUSHA SAMIR GILL