Asoka is the story of a man's journey. A journey that changes a young prince into a hopeless romantic. It changes a man bittered by betrayals into a ruthless warrior consumed with ambition. It changes a man who cares nothing about victory into a man dedicated to spreading peace around the world.
Who's Destiny is greater than that of the Emperor? The Traveller's...when he has completed his journey
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Prince Asoka is intrigued by an old man who informs him even Emperors are 'ordinary' and that his destiny transcends the crown and the throne. Asoka is the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. Asoka ascended the throne of the powerful kingdom Maghada in the 3rd century B.C.
To extend the boundaries of his empire, Asoka waged one of the bloodiest wars in history with the neighbouring kingdom of Kalinga, leaving it ravaged and devastated.
Confronted by the aftermath of his conquest, in which thousands lost their lives, Asoka is overcome by remorse. He renounces the path of war and dedicates his life to spreading the light of Buddhism across the world.
CHARACTER SKETCHES
The story is a very intense and emotional storyline, and I believe that stories like these are better witnessed on screen than on a review. Here are some character sketches which will give you a good idea of the storyline without giving it away
PRINCE ASOKA (Shahrukh Khan) The prince and emperor of Maghada who's story was traced throughout the entire story. It shows the transformation of a beloved son to an obsessive romantic. From a man embittered by betrayals to a ruthless warrior consumed by ambition. From a conqueror of lands to a conqueror of self. The main character and focus of the story, and the one with many different shades to their character.
PRINCESS KAURWAKI (Kareena Kapoor) Kaurwaki's character is the one that changes Asoka's attitude in the story. Asoka took on the name of "Pawan" when he was with her so that she would not know that he was a Prince. She is the princess of Kalinga, along with her brother Prince ARYA (Suraj Balaje) and the General of the Kalinga Army BHEEM (Rahul Dev) who are in hiding after Arya's and Kaurwaki's parents, the King and Queen, were killed by the Prime Minister of Kalinga. She represents the time of peace and love in Asoka's life, something that was missing when Asoka was Emperor of the Kingdom. She also is that healing process that brings Asoka back to peace and causes Asoka to denounce war once and for all.
SUSIM (Ajit Kumar) Asoka's brother and also one of the men wanting to be the next emperor of Maghada. This is the main negative character in the film, as many times he sends out henchmen to try and kill Asoka but they always come up empty. His death represents the changing of Asoka from a bitter man to a ruthless warrior wanting just victory.
DEVI (Hrishita Bhatt) One of the minor characters of the film but still an effective one. Asoka returns to his kingdom and wages a war against another territory where he is injured severely. Devi nurses him, and in the process, protects Asoka from a man sent by Susim to kill Asoka in his weakened state. She is one of the factors that introduces Buddhism into Asoka's life, but it is not strong enough to change Asoka from becoming into a ruthless warrior.
BHEEM (Rahul Dev) He is the general of the army in Kalinga, the enemy of Maghada and of Asoka. He was sent primarily to protect Kaurwaki and Arya and to get them back to the empire in Kalinga. His character has shades of a negative character, but mostly we admire the man who is sent back to protect the royal prince and princess.
ARYA (Suraj Balaje) The Prince of Kalinga, and heir to the throne. Although Arya is only a child not of even 10 years old, his life has already been threatened many times by the current prime minister of Kalinga, who wants to become the emperor. The only way this can happen is if Arya, who has no successor, is killed thus making the Prime Minister step up the ladder to the top position.
PERFORMANCES
In terms of the performances, it is Shahrukh Khan's film all the way. He is absolutely FANTASTIC in the film. Shahrukh embodies the role of "Asoka" and gives an award worthy performance. The most challenging character of the lot, Khan's portrayal of the late emperor is one of the toughest roles he has ever done in his career. The change from a loving son to an obsessive romantic to a ruthless warrior and to a preacher of peace could not have been done any better. He gives a very strong performance and does not overact one bit! It is hard to imagine anybody else doing justice to this character like Shahrukh did.
Kareena Kapoor is also mind-blowing as Princess Kaurwaki. She, as Shahrukh was, must have been hand picked for this role. She does incredible justice to the role and comes up with a career best performance. This surely outdoes her performances in Yaadein, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai and even Refugee.
Rahul Dev fits the role of the Army General and plays it to a tee. His emotional scenes in the movie are done very well. Ajit Kumar is very strong as the power hungry Susim. Hrishita Bhatt has done a very restrained performance in her role as Devi, but she does have the makings of a great actress and will go far in the future. Suraj Balaje is absolutely adorable as Arya and, similar to Yash Patak, will be the next generations superstars. Even as a small child, he comes out with a winning performance and will be remembered from this movie. Danny Denzongpa is good in the film as Virat, Asoka's enemy, friend and then enemy again. He does the change of shades in his character very well and should also be applauded for his performance in the film.
THE MUSIC
The international version of the movie had 3 songs cut out of it, leaving only 3 songs which were "San Sana" picturized on Kareena Kapoor with Shahrukh watching in the background, "Aa Tayar Hoga" picturized on Rajlakshmi Roy in a bar scene, and "Raat Ka Nasha" female version picturized on Kareena Kapoor. Even 2 of these songs were shortened. However, the effect of the songs was felt loud and clear, and were placed VERY well in the movie. Overall, the picturization of the songs was mind-blowing, and Anu Malik's music is very nice and will be remembered.
THE TECHNICAL EFFECTS
The film is technically on the same level of films like Lagaan and Aks this year. Ever since the beginning of the film, it felt as thought it was a hollywood cinematic experience, and yet, it was a very indian and cultural concept. Cinematography by Santosh Sivan, is, as expected, spellbinding. The background music by Sandeep Chotwa is excellent as well, and complements the story very well. Screenplay by Saket Chaudhary and Santosh Sivan has been done extremely well. The choreography by Farah Khan, dialogues by Abbas Tyrewala, Art direction by Sabu Cyril, editing by Sreekar Prasad and Costumes by Anu Vardhan, Manish Malhotra and Naresh Rohira all deserve top marks.
THE SUBTLE MESSAGE IN THE STORY
Santosh Sivan has been known to make movies that use sybmolism a lot, and Asoka is no exception. His brilliant film-making style subtly inserts a hidden message in the movie, but is also evident through the screenplay. The message of the movie he is trying to convey to the viewer is what the Buddhist Monk had said "The destiny of a traveller is bigger and better than that of an emperor". Although Asoka had scoffed at this thought early in the movie, he understood it at its fullest extent at the climax. It is a very universal thought that makes movies such as these very effective. Movies like Lagaan, Mohabbatein and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam were accepted very well because of the message that was evident in these movies, however different they may seem. Asoka is no exception. The message that the destiny of a regular man is as grand or as amazing as an emperor or a ruler of a country is something that people around the world can associate with and enjoy. This is another reason why this film will, most definetely, be a remembered one.
OVERALL
Overall, the film is superb. Many would have thought that Santosh Sivan could not make another film as good as Terrorist, but I have to say that overall, this film is a very strong one, with amazing performances, good music and an overall entertaining story. Watch out for Asoka at the awards ceremonies next year!
Overall rating **** (excellent)
Rani Mukherjee is putting in an appearance in Karan Johar's 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'. The director wanted to keep this a secret, but the cat was let out of the bag inadvertently during a press conference for the music release of the film. Karan, however, denied rumors that Abhishek Bachchan had a role in the film.
Karan's last film, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', had created a record in terms of music sales. According to Mr. Vijay Singh, Managing Director, Sony Music (that made its debut in Hindi film music by releasing the music of this film), they had notched up sales of 2 million copies worldwide, of which 700,000 were accounted for by Indonesia. This he said was an indication of the growing market for Hindi film music abroad.
Now that Rani Mukherjee's presence in the film stands revealed, what role does she play in the film, Karan was asked. "She has a very important role in the first half of the film. She plays a kind of cameo. When I approached her, she never asked about the length of the role. As she had been a part of my last film, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', she had no hesitation in taking up this role."
It was widely believed that Jatin-Lalit would be composing the music for 'Kabhi Khushi', but now it turns out that there is a surprise packet even there, with Aadesh Shrivastava and Sandesh Shandilya also sharing the credit lines. What is the reason for this? Were Jatin and Lalit not up to expectations? "No, it is not like that," says Karan. "When I signed Jatin-Lalit, I made it very clear to them that it is not going to be one composer's film. I needed a bhangra number for the film, and with Aadesh having done some fabulous bhangra songs in the past, I roped in him for the film. Sandesh was taken on because I needed some techno and western kind of music. I had heard Sandesh's compositions and found them very vibrant. I, therefore, requisitioned his services as well. Sandesh shares the credit line for the music with Jatin-Lalit whereas Aaadesh is the guest composer of the film."
Karan, it may be recalled, is a multifaceted personality. He assisted friend Aditya Chopra with the latter's directorial debut, 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'. He has also worked as a fashion designer and designed the costumes for 'Dil To Pagal Hai' and 'Mohabattein'. His debut film as a director, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', fetched him a number of prestigious awards for direction, screenplay and dialogue. Slated for a December release, 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' is chockablock with superstars. It also marks the 'comeback' of Kajol, who paired Shah Rukh in many silver jubilee films like 'Baazigar', 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' and 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'.
Sunny Deol has been in the headlines of late, especially for the success of 'Gadar'. But despite his good showing in the emotional scenes in this film, most among the audience recall only the 'he man' in the death defying scenes. The actor, of course, maintains that it is a mere coincidence that "all the films that had me in action roles have done well at the box-office." But, 'Sohni Mahiwal', he says, was not an action film. "People must remember my other films as well."
Sunny has, therefore, taken a conscious decision to get away from being stereotyped. "Indian', my first film as an independent producer, that is set for release this month, will decidedly be my last action film. After this, I will only concentrate on roles that are vivid in presentation. I plan to do a comedy with Govinda soon." Sunny, it seems, is determined to prove his caliber as a versatile actor.
The actor is media shy and modest. He does not talk much even in press conferences organized for his films. His logic is that "the films should speak for themselves." Sunny says: "Then there are the same routine and jaded questions from newsmen who are only interested in the personal lives of stars." He prefers to share the credit for the success of 'Gadar' with all the unit members.
Sunny is one of the few actors who have maintained their distance from commercials. He says: "An actor has a certain responsibility towards his fans. He cannot let them down by doing too many commercials and ending up loosing his charm." Sunny is also dead against performing at parties and private functions. "There are stars who take money to dance in marriage functions. They have spoilt the image of actors. I cannot perform such acts in public whatever the amount offered."
Whatever may have been the stories surrounding this hunk in the past, he has always maintained silence, whether it was his alleged short affair with Raveena Tondon or his so-called 'liaison' with Dimple Kapadia. "For me, my personal life is out of bounds for the media. I do not invite media men home. I meet them at my office. There are certain rules that I have set from the very beginning of my career."
Sunny does not believe in popular awards and does not hanker for them. "I work for my satisfaction, and if by the end of the day I can feel happy about my performance, I am satisfied."
He is still sticking to his plans of making a period film with his kid brother Bobby. "We will announce the film soon. Right now we are finalizing the details. But his topmost priority at the moment is to look out for diversified roles. "I am looking for a role like the one my dad (Dharmendra) did in 'Phool Aur Patthar' or 'Chupke Chupke'." In this quest, he is talking to many directors---established hands as well as new faces.
Sunny reveals that he has shelved the under production 'Deva' and will now launch a new film titled 'Gandhi' in January next year. After his unsuccessful debut as a director with 'Dillagi', he is guarded. "May be, if I get a solid script; I may direct another film."