London, Oct. 30: Despite being almost universally acclaimed by mainstream cinema critics, the Shah Rukh Khan-produced and Santosh Sivan-directed Asoka has still not managed to make it as Bollywood’s first “crossover” film which appeals equally to Asians and westerners alike.
Martin Myers, whose distribution company, Miracle Communications, handled the nationwide release of Asoka with more than 80 prints, said it had performed strongly as expected in Asian areas.
There had been high hopes that Asoka, with its mix of adventure, music, romance and visual excellence, would build on the success of Lagaan and introduce western audiences to the Bollywood genre. But these hopes have not been realised, at least not fully, admitted Myers.
Four days after its release on October 26, the film had grossed £235,000, enough to secure an entry into the British Top Ten at number nine. “Over the weekend, it has taken £18,000 in Feltham, between £10,000 and £11,000 in Woodgreen, £10,000 in Southall, and outside London, £6,000 in Bradford,” he said.
But in such mainly white areas as Belfast, Plymouth, York and Leeds, Asoka had not done well. “It will be taken off after a week. It seems western audiences are still not ready for Bollywood,” explained Myers. He said: “The film has not crossed over. Films finish as they begin so I don’t think the audiences will get better.”
He added: “I have handled it just like any other western movie. I have spent about £150,000 on marketing and PR and I think we did a good job. We just have to keep working for more and more awareness.”
Western audiences were not convinced by favourable reviews. “There is no correlation between reviews and audiences,” remarked Myers. “I would be prepared to re-release if Asoka is nominated for an Oscar — I think the Indian entry will probably be between Lagaan and Asoka.”
Shah Rukh and Sivan will be thrilled by the reviews, though.
Christopher Tookey, the film critic of the Daily Mail, confessed: “I enjoyed it immensely.”
He believes that “here at last is a Bollywood movie that deserves to be seen by everyone.” He called Asoka “a majestic epic on the scale of Gladiator. The battle scenes are as impressive as anything in Braveheart, and were achieved for a tiny fraction of the budget.”
He told his readers that “there’s real visual flair on display” and added: “Western film-makers could learn from its emotional directness and determination to involve the audience, not to mention a respect for inner spiritual development.”
In the Observer, Philip French wrote: “The opening sequence in which Asoka the child seizes the emblematic sword of conquest abandoned by his pacifist grandfather is memorable.”
He also found the acting “much more naturalistic than it used to be in Indian epics”.
The Sunday Telegraph’s Jenny McCartney agreed with Shah Rukh that Asoka was over the top. “In the case of Asoka, over the top proves rather a gripping place to go.” She said: “The film manages to be shamelessly sentimental and moving at the same time.”
Asoka also got a mention in The Independent, whose critic, Charlotte O’Sullivan, found it “oddly moving”. She was also intrigued that “superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s spots don’t get covered up”.
The Times carried not only a review but also an interview with Shah Rukh. “If films were placed under starters orders,” noted James Christopher, “the clear winner this week would be Santosh Sivan’s Asoka.” He added that “in terms of colour, length and gaudy bravura, there’s nothing in British cinema to touch it.
To Christopher, “the real stroke of genius is that the director Santosh Sivan has created a movie that can be endlessly revisited.”
In the Evening Standard, Neil Norman said: “A romantic epic in the old-fashioned mode, with the accent on high emotions, it is guided by a stunning visual sense and an intelligent script which even allows for a quota of irony. This is a tremendous feat of populist entertainment.”
Such endorsement could not have been bought even with a weeklong expenses paid trip to a five-star hotel in Juhu.