The long awaited and much previewed Asoka releases today, on October 26, 2001. Upperstall was treated to a pre-release screening, and going against tradition, we decided, instead of re-reviewing, to review it. So now you have something of an Asoka special update - the preview (a chat with a somewhat important person who is part of the film), the review, and a special article on the making of Asoka.

Santosh Sivan's big step forward from Halo and The Terrorist is not feigning to be an epic. All along the makers have clarified that they are not trying to make a grandiose depiction of reality. After watching the film, the clarification holds because one can see that at the very basic story level, the film was intended to be an intimate affair. To make this intimate fictionalized film on the most ostentatious hero of Indian history sure was a tough challenge from the word go. Besides, intentions went even beyond that in trying to get the Indian commercial film on the world cinema scene. Does the film pull it off? Let's see now…

On characterizations and performances - Shah Rukh Khan is extremely convincing. Asoka's magnanimity is brought out to the fullest. The transition of his character's "journey" (the word consistently associated with Asoka) is well studied by the actor. And it is a difficult role because it deals with the extreme emotions of anger and confusion in the time of lost love. One wonders how the real Asoka pulled it all off (considering most scholars' claims of he being a short, dark and pockmarked man). Karriena Kapoor may change the spelling of her name ten times over but the fact remains that she is impressive in only exactly 16 frames in the third song of the first half. The not-so-big surprise is that Hrishitaa Bhatt is excellent in her little role and has a far greater impact when compared to Karriena; something that should not have happened in the first place considering the scope of the latter's role. Rahul Dev cannot be blamed for the confused chap he plays. This is a big faux pas in the script. It is not clear if he is a good guy or a baddie. First he is a baddie because he kills a couple of old folk, throwing Kalinga into confusion. Then he turns into goodie-two-shoes as he helps the successor (a little kid called Arya, who I'll get later to) reach Kalinga regain the throne. There are undertones of his love for Kaurwaki, but he never suggests it. The role is too gray and without resolve. Ajit Kumar - the Tamil Khan is very well cast in his role as Susim. But what the hell is Johnny Lever doing in Asoka? Are our sensibilities so fragile that we cannot do without this man? He might be funny but this is pointless. Arya, the cute little crown prince of Kalinga, played by ______ has acted his heart out. So with him, all said and done, kudos to Khan and Bhatt. Overall, Sivan has undoubtedly made the actors work hard and it shows.

Cinematography is excellent. The shot compositions and camera techniques (everything from innovative rack-focusing to play with the f-stops) is on par with anything coming out of Hollywood. Every sequence illustrates Sivan's meticulous planning. There is fascinating play with lighting and slow mo, especially in some of the stylized songs. The film could've used a sprinkling of computer-generated special effects. Not the Jurassic Park type, rather like the realism recreated in Forrest Gump to add to the dramatic effect.

Art direction and sets could've been better. The basic problem here is that instead of creating the period, the art direction veers more towards masking the fact that this is shot in the 21st century. This is quite acceptable given the budget constraints (not quite Pearl Harbor's). What is not acceptable are a handful of really tacky sets that make an obvious use of still slide projectors to depict the period. Geographically, the locations are as good as they could've gotten.

Music by Anu Malik is fresh and doesn't seemed "inspired" by other sources. The songs are not really catchy except the words "Mahua, Mahua" which sticks in the head for some reason or the other. The outstanding musical element is the background score. It does not go overboard and overshadow the visuals as it could've easily done. Instead, it compliments it brilliantly. How in the world did they show Asoka at film fests around the globe without any background music?

For once the items (a.k.a. nach-gana by random starlets with no connection to the story) are not all that unimpressive.

The promotion has been noteworthy and true to the film. It smells of Hollywood on this front, and that can't be a bad thing as far as business goes. One hears that Asoka even dons the walls of London's tube system. Asoka is touted to be the most aggressively marketed film to overseas and its fair to say that it is a film that deserves it.

So with most good things said, the one thing that's amiss, the hitch, is that Asoka doesn't exactly take you over the moon. The problem lies in Asoka's story. Definitely superior to 95% of the Bollywood trash, Asoka unfortunately does not compare to the best. The first half is actually boring. A blessing in disguise perhaps because the film takes off in the latter part of the second half with the Kalinga War, et al. This is the bit where fact begins to take over fiction. And it really is more exciting and remarkable. Perhaps the makers got too carried away in trying to formulate Asoka to be Bollywood compatible. The equation of the percentage of fact vs. fiction could've been more even. We all know that true stories make good stories and Asoka couldn't have been a more interesting subject. So the whole Kaurwaki-Asoka track that takes center stage in the film is a bit tedious. The several other smaller tracks however, are well crafted and could've got a little more justification. I am not counting Johnny Lever's Levering and Rahul Dev's confusion.

So is the film good?
Yes.

But is it a classic?
No.