Genre in Bollywood isn’t quite as clear cut as it is in the West.
It’s not unusual for a film to start as a light-hearted romantic
comedy, veer into tragic drama, and end with a big action scene,
probably sprinkling in a little slapstick along the way. Still, while
Hindi cinema isn’t exactly realistic, it’s generally grounded in an
idealized version of contemporary India. There are exceptions, of
course; for instance, the snake movie is a thriving sub-genre all its
own, and there’s a rich tradition of religious films in India. And you
also see the occasional historical epic, like tonight’s film, Asoka.
Refreshingly, Asoka makes no claims to historical accuracy, and even opens with a disclaimer to that effect. It’s based on the life of the legendary Emperor Asoka, but cheerfully takes liberties with the historical record in the service of a good story.
Asoka is an ambitious young prince, competing for the throne with his step-brother Susima (Ajit Kumar). Susima seems to be the likely choice; he’s got the support of his mother, the Emperor’s favored wife (Shilpa Mehta), nearly all of the other brothers, and even the current Emperor himself. But Asoka has one advantage to counter all that: He’s played by Shahrukh Khan. He also has his grandfather’s allegedly cursed and demon-haunted sword, but at this point in the movie it’s kept safely under wraps.
Even without the cursed sword in hand, Asoka has easily survived eleven of his brother’s assassination attempts, and we see him easily dispatch the twelfth assassin. He’s not worried at all, but his mother (Subhashini Ali) is; she pressures him to leave the court, and being a Good Indian Boy, he can’t disobey his mother.
Wandering into exile, Asoka names himself after his horse, Pawan. Asoka-as-Pawan tussles with Virat (Danny Denzongpa), a local bully, and then falls in with three refugees from neighboring Kalinga: Arya (Sulaj Balaje), the boy-prince in exile, Arya’s bodyguard Bheema (Rahul Dev), and Arya’s sister Karwauki (Kareena Kapoor). Asoka manages to win Arya’s admiration, Karwauki’s love, and Bheema’s grudging tolerance. He settles into a happy new life, but is suddenly called home.
While Asoka’s away, Arya and Karwauki are betrayed, and an entire village is burned down in order to get to them. Asoka returns to find only ashes. Desolate, he tries to provoke Virat into killing him; when his guards intervene, he casually orders Virat spared and earns a friend for life.
Asoka goes home and returns to military service. He’s wounded in action, but the beautiful Devi (Hrishitaa Bhatt) nurses him back to health. After she foils yet another attempt on Asoka’s life, accidentally killing the assassin in the process, her wedding is ruined; Asoka marries her out of gratitude, though as she’s a Buddhist, the Emperor refuses to accept her into the family.
When Devi becomes pregnant, Susima (who isn’t able to produce his own heir) tries to have her killed, but it’s Asoka’s mother who ends up dying. Big mistake. Out comes the demon sword, and when the red mist clears, it’s Asoka sitting on the throne.
From the moment he takes up his grandfather’s sword, Asoka begins a steady moral decline. He’s consumed by vengeance and power, and finally, he sets his sights on Kalinga. What he doesn’t know is that Karwauki and Arya are both very much alive, and leading the nation he’s trying to destroy.
The cinematography in Asoka is much more stylized than in the usual Bollywood film, and often hauntingly beautiful. The DVD cover includes a blurb comparing the film to Gladiator, and the visuals are indeed somewhat similar. (In other aspects, the two films are very, very different.)
We only see snippets of the major battles in the film (with the exception of the final one), but we do see several individual combats. I’m no expert on classical Indian warfare, but I was impressed by the fight choreography. The swordplay was very graceful, with almost dance like, circular movements. Shahrukh also uses an Urumi, or whip sword, at several points in the film, and looks very impressive while doing it, though he doesn’t quite reach the levels of badassosity that Ajay Devgan does as the bandit Bulwa in Lajja.
It’s not Bollywood without song and dance, of course. The musical numbers are in a contemporary style, which can be a little jarring due to the historical setting, but the songs are nice, and there’s some lovely choreography. The stylized cinematography works especially well with the songs. I was amused by the fact that despite the film taking place in the 3rd century BC, Shahrukh wound up wearing one of his trademark see-through shirts.
The acting was generally good across the board, with SRK being the real standout. The epic scope of the story allowed him to display all his strengths as an actor, moving from charming and romantic rogue to anguished tragic lover to heartless tyrant. In one very effective scene, Asoka, abandoned by the last of his true friends, is left alone in his tent, quietly muttering, “But I won!” It’s a lovely bit of characterization. Kareena was quite fetching, and displayed nice chemistry with SRK. As Devi, Hrishitaa Bhatt displayed a remarkable quiet dignity. Johnny Lever appears as a guard and serves as a part of a Greek chorus, mixing exposition, commentary on the action, and the odd comedy bit.
The film isn’t perfect. Thanks to the scriptwriters, Bheema comes off as a bit of an idiot, since he lets Arya parade around openly displaying the royal insignia of Kalinga for the first half of the film, while they are supposedly on the run, and Bheema tells a lie to Asoka for no apparent reason which leads to the deaths of thousands of people. While it’s always nice to see Johnny Lever, the Greek chorus scenes don’t really add anything to the narrative. And while leading her fellow Kalingites (Kalingese? Kalingons?) into battle, Karwauki puts on a midriff-baring suit of armor, and yet somehow manages not to get stabbed in the stomach.
Still, Asoka is an impressive achievement. It works on a scale you seldom see in Bollywood. the film looks gorgeous, and Shahrukh gives one of his best performances to date.
Refreshingly, Asoka makes no claims to historical accuracy, and even opens with a disclaimer to that effect. It’s based on the life of the legendary Emperor Asoka, but cheerfully takes liberties with the historical record in the service of a good story.
Asoka is an ambitious young prince, competing for the throne with his step-brother Susima (Ajit Kumar). Susima seems to be the likely choice; he’s got the support of his mother, the Emperor’s favored wife (Shilpa Mehta), nearly all of the other brothers, and even the current Emperor himself. But Asoka has one advantage to counter all that: He’s played by Shahrukh Khan. He also has his grandfather’s allegedly cursed and demon-haunted sword, but at this point in the movie it’s kept safely under wraps.
Even without the cursed sword in hand, Asoka has easily survived eleven of his brother’s assassination attempts, and we see him easily dispatch the twelfth assassin. He’s not worried at all, but his mother (Subhashini Ali) is; she pressures him to leave the court, and being a Good Indian Boy, he can’t disobey his mother.
Wandering into exile, Asoka names himself after his horse, Pawan. Asoka-as-Pawan tussles with Virat (Danny Denzongpa), a local bully, and then falls in with three refugees from neighboring Kalinga: Arya (Sulaj Balaje), the boy-prince in exile, Arya’s bodyguard Bheema (Rahul Dev), and Arya’s sister Karwauki (Kareena Kapoor). Asoka manages to win Arya’s admiration, Karwauki’s love, and Bheema’s grudging tolerance. He settles into a happy new life, but is suddenly called home.
While Asoka’s away, Arya and Karwauki are betrayed, and an entire village is burned down in order to get to them. Asoka returns to find only ashes. Desolate, he tries to provoke Virat into killing him; when his guards intervene, he casually orders Virat spared and earns a friend for life.
Asoka goes home and returns to military service. He’s wounded in action, but the beautiful Devi (Hrishitaa Bhatt) nurses him back to health. After she foils yet another attempt on Asoka’s life, accidentally killing the assassin in the process, her wedding is ruined; Asoka marries her out of gratitude, though as she’s a Buddhist, the Emperor refuses to accept her into the family.
When Devi becomes pregnant, Susima (who isn’t able to produce his own heir) tries to have her killed, but it’s Asoka’s mother who ends up dying. Big mistake. Out comes the demon sword, and when the red mist clears, it’s Asoka sitting on the throne.
From the moment he takes up his grandfather’s sword, Asoka begins a steady moral decline. He’s consumed by vengeance and power, and finally, he sets his sights on Kalinga. What he doesn’t know is that Karwauki and Arya are both very much alive, and leading the nation he’s trying to destroy.
The cinematography in Asoka is much more stylized than in the usual Bollywood film, and often hauntingly beautiful. The DVD cover includes a blurb comparing the film to Gladiator, and the visuals are indeed somewhat similar. (In other aspects, the two films are very, very different.)
We only see snippets of the major battles in the film (with the exception of the final one), but we do see several individual combats. I’m no expert on classical Indian warfare, but I was impressed by the fight choreography. The swordplay was very graceful, with almost dance like, circular movements. Shahrukh also uses an Urumi, or whip sword, at several points in the film, and looks very impressive while doing it, though he doesn’t quite reach the levels of badassosity that Ajay Devgan does as the bandit Bulwa in Lajja.
It’s not Bollywood without song and dance, of course. The musical numbers are in a contemporary style, which can be a little jarring due to the historical setting, but the songs are nice, and there’s some lovely choreography. The stylized cinematography works especially well with the songs. I was amused by the fact that despite the film taking place in the 3rd century BC, Shahrukh wound up wearing one of his trademark see-through shirts.
The acting was generally good across the board, with SRK being the real standout. The epic scope of the story allowed him to display all his strengths as an actor, moving from charming and romantic rogue to anguished tragic lover to heartless tyrant. In one very effective scene, Asoka, abandoned by the last of his true friends, is left alone in his tent, quietly muttering, “But I won!” It’s a lovely bit of characterization. Kareena was quite fetching, and displayed nice chemistry with SRK. As Devi, Hrishitaa Bhatt displayed a remarkable quiet dignity. Johnny Lever appears as a guard and serves as a part of a Greek chorus, mixing exposition, commentary on the action, and the odd comedy bit.
The film isn’t perfect. Thanks to the scriptwriters, Bheema comes off as a bit of an idiot, since he lets Arya parade around openly displaying the royal insignia of Kalinga for the first half of the film, while they are supposedly on the run, and Bheema tells a lie to Asoka for no apparent reason which leads to the deaths of thousands of people. While it’s always nice to see Johnny Lever, the Greek chorus scenes don’t really add anything to the narrative. And while leading her fellow Kalingites (Kalingese? Kalingons?) into battle, Karwauki puts on a midriff-baring suit of armor, and yet somehow manages not to get stabbed in the stomach.
Still, Asoka is an impressive achievement. It works on a scale you seldom see in Bollywood. the film looks gorgeous, and Shahrukh gives one of his best performances to date.
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