Cinemas

Asoka - What's it all About?

Bu Fuad Omar.

There was a young boy who grew up to become one of the Indian film industry' s greatest technical wizards, who had something nagging him for many years ever since he was a child. He would look on fascinated as his teacher told him one day about a great king who fought in one of the bloodiest battles in the history of India. He couldn't allow the thought of why this great warrior would give up fighting leave his mind and as he grew older, his interest turned to other things which would allow him to visually tell his thoughts. After learning and using his art to tell many stories, he turned back to the story of that great king which had stayed with him and decided to do something about it. That boy was Santosh Sivan, ace director of the internationally acclaimed film Terrorist and cinematographer of films such as Dil Se and Fiza. The king who he had learnt of as a child was Emperor Ashoka, one of the greatest kings India has known, whose bloody conquest of Kalinga moved him so much that he gave up all forms of violence and became a Buddhist.

Asoka, the eagerly anticipated Shahrukh Khan-Kareena Kapoor film is slated for release in October with a London premiere inevitable around the same time as the Anil-Aamir-Aishwarya shows and Zee Asia Live. Asoka is Dreamz Unlimited's second venture after Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and on the sets of the movie, it was easy to see this was Shahrukh's home production. I visited the sets late last year, that too by chance, to see a friend who was doing an interview there at the time. I remember walking in baffled and awe-struck by the elaborate costumes and painstaking detail that seemed to be floating in the air and landing on the atmosphere, reflective of the filmmaker's passion for this project. Asoka is basically Santosh Sivan's baby. It's a film he wanted to make and had planned for a while, Shahrukh loved the project and given Santosh's expert camerawork, it was simply a film meant to fall in Shahrukh's lap. I'm sure after watching the movie you' ll all believe Shahrukh is Asoka, because if it's one thing I'll never forget it's that day. His passion was unbridled and like an obsessed maniac he was practising and rehearsing his swordplay. Swordplay? Yep, no need for a stunt double when Shahrukh's around, the devoted actor believes in doing things himself. In fact I use that a lot in meeting people or when friends want to start their own ventures and talk about paying someone to make the business easier. I say 'What would Shahrukh do?' and they know the response. If something needs to be done, be it related to his business or films, he won't hire someone to do it if he can do it himself, not to save money but out of a passion to learn and master things. He spent weeks rehearsing and learning how to use a sword and it's clear to see the results, which are for those who will see them soon: mindblowing.

Asoka is one of the hottest films of the moment and now I wish I had done more write ups when casually visiting the sets. Asoka is all set to be released on October 26th and the music has just been unleashed on the world to a great response.

Although not many of us here in the UK will probably know much of Asoka the man, but taking the essence that vibrates out of history books has been captured by Santosh who is now going to give us an insight that'll surely make people want to find out more.
"For years, I wondered what drove this man, what made him make the choices he did," says Sivan speaking about Asoka. "After lot of research I decided to make a film on the king. Also, most of what we know about him is after the war. No one has talked about the pre-war period."

Is the film going to be a historical movie or a period drama, I wonder, only to find that this is one movie you can't really slot into either category given it's fresh aura yet roots in history. The stills are amazing and the promotional sequences I had seen were very good, with Kareena looking fabulous sans make up.
"We wanted the film to appeal to the younger audience, which is why the look and style of the film is modernistic" says Shahrukh.
Sivan adds, "So far we have depended too much on sets and symmetry in our periods, which makes them gaudy. I didn't want that kind of a look." "The story is based more on myths and legends of Asoka from the third century in Orissa and Bihar, combined with Buddhist legends of Asoka in Orissa. We don't know the full story because until 1915 we didn't even know Asoka's name, since the edicts were deciphered only then" he goes on to explain.

Then, as to distance himself from critics who will undoubtedly pull him up for the historical accuracy of the character and the movie, he immediately says: "I did not want to make a bio-pic, documentary, or docu-drama" and gives a look that blatantly conveys 'so don't go looking for one'. Asoka also has a love angle involving Kaurwaki (Kareena Kapoor), which changed Asoka's life, and another mysterious character Bheem (played by Rahul Dev). Kaurwaki is a simple girl from the fishing community in Kalinga (modern Orissa) and is a strong focal character in the film and to Asoka's life.

"Santosh first told me about Asoka on top of the train when we were shooting Chaiyya chaiyya for Dil Se," says Shahrukh with a laugh. "I didn't understand a word of what he said because he spoke in Malayalam and I spoke Hindi, but I still said 'Yes'. Later Juhi made sense of it and told me that he had this dream of making a film on Asoka."

Many people reading will have seen stills of Asoka in some papers, seen some of the promos which have started airing and will not know what to make of this movie, given you only get glimpses of a long haired Shahrukh holding a sword, a simple looking Kareena and a short haired Shahrukh too. What I can tell you is that Asoka is about a film made with passion, dedication and with some of the industry's topmost talent and that all I can really reveal about the plot at this point (without going into another piece altogether) is what it's about in a nutshell. It tells the story of Emperor Asoka in the century of 3 B.C. who to extend the boundaries of his empire waged one of the bloodiest wars in history with the neighbouring kingdom of Kalinga, leaving it devastated. Reflecting in the aftermath in which thousands lost their lives, Asoka renounces the path of war to spread the spiritual essence of Buddhism. It's an epic cinematic experience that will surely on a narrative and technical level leave you breathless, and performance wise you know what to expect from the cast: the unexpected.

Asoka is about the transformation of a youth from a son to an obsessive romantic, consumed with ambition. It hits UK cinemas October 26th and is one to watch on the big screen. Maybe even on the 13th if you can get tickets for the premiere in Leicester Square. Whatever happens, don't miss this one because history is only made once, and embedded forever.