Im willing to bet that poor ol Emperor Ashoka would have turned in his grave, if he were to see this movie ’ allegedly’ based on his life. Although it must be said to the credit of the filmmakers, they do have the notice at the beginning, informing viewers that, ’’ some events have been fictionalized to provide for dramatic appeal ’’. I wonder why they couldnt just have made this a story of a fictional king , somewhere in the distant past. Why drag the poor dead emperor into it ??
Ashoka , the most powerful Emperor that pre mughal India ever had, is one of ancient Indian history’s most renowned figures. So when u set out to make a film based on such a character, it is only natural to expect the film makers to have done their research properly.
Sigh !! But I wonder what kinda research, Director Santosh Sivan and Shah Rukh did ? Cos their version , ’’Asoka’’ is 99% fiction and apart from a few places and a few odd references to historical events, nothing is very authentic abt it !
For one , u have the entire cast strutting around in designer clothes and trendy jewellery , which are supposed to pass off as ancient indian wear !
The royals at the court , are clad in , horror of horrors, salwar kameezes and ghagra cholis , with elaborate zardosi work on them !!
Remember this is India in around 300-350 Bc, that is before the Mughals .
Hindus in those days , considered , stitched clothing , as unholy and it was only years after the Mughal invasion that stitched clothing made an entry into India !
In the movie, Shah rukh Khan plays Ashoka, the prince of Magadha . His mom, fearing for his life ( there is a scheming step brother , out to capture
the throne) forces him to leave the kingdom and disguise himself as an ordinary man. He leaves and while roaming the countryside, our young knight ( white horse and all ) comes across the lovely maiden ( kareena kapoor) cavorting under a waterfall. She turns out to be the princess of Kalinga in hiding ..... though the director’s idea of ’hiding’ seems to be to prance about everywhere half naked !!! ( honestly !!! )
The two fall in love and a lotta misunderstandings and a lotta reels later, we have the half crazed King Ashoka ( he turns into the crowned killer machine, after he thinks his prancing princess has been killed ) set out to capture Kalinga.
The historic battle of Kalinga. Santosh Sivan’s version of it has Kalinga being led by none other than our lovely princess, who with her flowing bronzed hair, and bare back costume hardly fits the role of a brave young soldier.
In real life, the Battle of kalinga was the turning point in Asoka’s life. Returning to the battle field, after dusk , he is deeply affected by the sight of all the wounded and dead lying around. All the wanton death and destruction that ensued there, made him realise the value of life. He adopted buddhism and henceforth became a model king and ruler.
In the movie ’’asoka’’, we have the love sick killer machine returning only cos he heard his prancing princess is somewhere around !!!
On the more positive side, asoka does have a few good performances, excellent cinematography, and well picturised songs. But thats about all it has going for it.
Its all very fine to add a few fictional events to add spice to the film. But the makers of this one, have exercised their artistic license a lil too freely !
I somehow get the feeling that if the Emperor were around to see this blatant misrepresentation of facts , he might just have forgotten his vows of non- violence !!!