Production Company: Arclightz and Films Pvt Ltd.
Director: Santosh Sivan
Writer: Santosh Sivan
Music: Anu Malik
Cinematography: Santosh Sivan
Editor: Shreekar Prasad
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Hrishtaa Bhatt, Danny Denzongpa, Rahul Dev, Ajit, Suraj Balaje & Subhashini Ali
Arclightz & Filmz’ Asoka is a fictionalised account of the eventful part of the life of the legendary Indian emperor, Ashoka. Grandson of Chandragupt Maurya, Ashoka ascended the throne of Magadha in 3rd century B.C. In his quest for power and more power, he waged one of the bloodiest battles ever with the neighbouring kingdom of Kalinga, killing thousands of innocent people.
When realisation dawned upon him about the futility of such power, he renounced the path of war and embraced Buddhism to spread the message of peace across the world.
It is this reality about the life of Ashoka that’s juxtaposed with a fictionalised account of his love story. In the film, Ashoka falls in love with a pretty girl, Kaurwaki, who is the daughter of the king of Kalinga. Without knowing her identity and also without revealing his own, he marries her but circumstances separate the couple.
Unaware of his real identity, Kaurwaki searches for him but remains unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Ashoka gets news of his wife’s death and loses interest in life. Slowly but surely, he comes out of his depression and is forced by circumstances to marry another girl.
After his marriage to her, his step-brother hatches a plot to kill his unborn child but his mother is killed instead. This infuriates Ashoka so much that he kills all his step-brothers and eventually launches the war against Kalinga. After this war, he meets his first wife in the battlefield, now a land strewn with corpses of people of Magadha and Kalinga.
The film dates too far back in history to make an impact on the young generation of today, which forms a large chunk of the audience. Although the success of the recent historical, Lagaan, has no relevance to this film, it must be pointed out that Lagaan had a very contemporary game (cricket) knit into the historical tale of pre-independence India.
Coming back to Asoka, the screenplay (Saket Choudhary and Santosh Sivan) has several weak moments. The pace is so leisurely that it tests the viewer’s patience. Although a good part of the film’s first half is devoted to the romance between Ashoka and Kaurwaki, the magic doesn’t work. The film looks more like a stage-drama, which is its biggest undoing.
While paying too much attention to camera angles and shot compositions, director Santosh Sivan has missed the soul of the romance. Because the love between the two is not intense, their separation does not draw emotions in the post-interval portion. Yes, a couple of scenes do tug at the heart-strings but they are too few and far between to make an impact. Abbas Tyrewala’s dialogues are beautifully written and add to the drama let down by a weak screenplay.
Shah Rukh Khan does very well in the title role, living his character and delivering an extremely restrained and natural performance. Kareena Kapoor looks bewitching and seductive and is simply mind-boggling as far as her acting goes.
Whether in romantic or emotional scenes or in the action scenes during the battle, Kareena is absolutely mesmerising. Suraj Balaji, as Kareena’s kid-brother, is superb and natural to the core.
Ajit does a fair job as Shah Rukh’s ambitious step-brother. Danny Denzongpa, in a different role, is very effective. Rahul Dev impresses a lot. Hrishita Bhatt has a brief role but leaves a mark. Johny Lever, Raghuvir Yadav and Suresh Menon are alright. Shweta Menon, Subhashini Ali, Gerson da Cunha and the rest lend excellent support.
Santosh Sivan’s camerawork is not just better than his direction but is also of international standard. The cinematography leaves the viewer asking for more, so captivating is it! However, Sivan’s narration has elitist appeal and his treatment, more suitable for a stage-play.
Anu Malik’s music is fantastic. ‘San sanana’, ‘Aa aa taiyyar ho ja’, ‘Raat ka nasha’ and ‘O re kaanchi’ are superbly tuned numbers. Picturisations of all songs (Farah Khan, Brinda and Geeta Kapoor) are also very appealing and sexy.
Background score (Sandeep Chowta) adds tremendously to the narrative. Sets (Sabu Cyril) are wonderful.
On the whole, Asoka, based on the life of Ashoka, is a shocker. It will appeal to the class audience while the masses will like the songs, Kareena Kapoor and the sex in the film but not the film itself.
The strange combination of war and sex may not yield the desired box-office results. A film for metropolitan cities and parts of Overseas only.
RS Rating: 4/10
REVIEWED BY KOMAL NAHTA