REVIEW: ‘Asoka’ (2001)

ASOKA is a landmark achievement in India’s prolific film industry. It’s an epic film with a cast of thousands telling the tale of one of India’s greatest historical figures. It’s visually stunning and packed with all the romance, action, drama, and music to fill any number of Hollywood blockbusters. Additionally, the film depicts one of the oldest martial arts forms in the world. The film has much to offer Western audiences generally reticent towards watching Bollywood films.

The story of ASOKA is the story of the prince of Magadha in the 3rd century B.C. named Asoka who comes to power and wages India’s bloodiest war against the Kalinga Empire in an effort to unite India. He succeeds, but the terrible death and destruction he witnesses leads him to renounce war altogether and embrace Buddhism. His remaining years in power become one of India’s greatest periods as he institutes many reforms and public works projects to improve the lives of the people.

The film is a highly fictionalized account of his rise to power and culminates with the massive battle fought against the Kalinga Army. As historical films go, this is a bad effort filled with inaccuracies and heavy modern references. The filmmakers also wasted an opportunity to fully expound on the interesting dichotomy formed by the instigator of India’s bloodiest war becoming one of the country’s most beloved humanitarians. But, accepting the films’ own claim that this is not “a complete historical account of Asoka’s life,” one could look at Asoka soley for its entertainment value and discover that it is a film of great value.

Visually, the film is Oscar caliber. Credit goes to director and cinematographer Santosh Sivan (THE TERRORIST) who breathes expressive and fluid life into every scene. From picturesque waterfalls and dazzling imperial halls to bleak and dusty deserts, the locales enhance the film’s scale and beauty.

Indian films are well known for their musical numbers. They usually confound Western audiences unfamiliar with the music and who have written off the musical as a modern film genre. ASOKA contains five musical numbers that do seem out of place due to the more contemporary sound and the sultry dancing. But the music itself is catchy, the women featured are beautiful and each of the well-choreographed scenes add a exuberant bounce to the film’s stride.

The action is relegated to a supporting role in the film, behind the romance between the two leads and the drama of Asoka’s emotional grief. What is present, found mostly in sword fights, is well staged and should be of interest to martial arts fans for its depiction of Kalarippayat, one of the oldest forms of martial arts in the world. Experts were brought in to train the stars and perform as extras. Indian heartthrob Shahrukh Khan, who plays Asoka performs a fair amount of this style. Most memorable is his use of a “snake sword,” its blade made up of several very long and flexible tendrils that act much like a whip. In another scene he takes on several combatants who all dance around with curved sabers in twirling, fluid motion.

Weapons are actually at the heart of the film. Asoka’s family sword becomes a representation of the evil that leads him to bring down his reign of destruction on the people of Kalinga. This climax of the film rivals any epic battle in film for size and scale. Over 6000 extras and at least 50 elephants are brought to bear in a massive melee. It’s quite the spectacle, yet the battle scene is relatively short in comparison to the rest of the film which is dominated by the love affair between Asoka and Kaurwaki (Kareena Kapoor).

Sivan was clearly trying to envision a reasoning for Asoka’s bloodlust and subsequent reversal. He manages both parts well, but his handling of Asoka’s final transformation into the great leader is rushed, thus lessening the horrifying realization that he comes to. Shahrukh Khan is a charismatic actor who projects strong emotion into the character throughout the film. His female counterpart, Kareena Kapoor is a feisty beauty. The other standout performance comes from Danny Denzongpa who plays Asoka’s loyal friend Virat. His occasionally comical and always gruff demeanor coupled with his initial distain for Asoka and eventual loyalty is reminiscent of Omar Sharif’s fine role opposite Peter O’Toole in David Lean’s epic LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962). The court intrigue involving Asoka’s deep love for his mother and bitter rivalry with his brothers, added to his despair over his lost love brings the plot pot to a boil in an engaging manner.

ASOKA is the kind of film designed from the ground up to please its audience. It’s commercial in every sense, distaining historical accuracy for entertainment value. In this case, that’s not a bad thing. The film contains a little bit of everything and tops it off with a show-stopping finale. If you’ve never thought to watch a Bollywood film before, then by all means make this rousing blockbuster your first.