Asoka... |
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Movie
Review: Asoka
Starring: Shahrukh Khan,
Kareena Kapoor, Hrishita Bhatt, Rahul Dev, Danny Denzongpa
Director: Santosh Sivan
Producer: Arclights Films Pvt.
Limited.
Music: Anu Malik
Lyrics: Sameer
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Asoka is a movie of epic proportions. It is a journey of a youth from a beloved
son to an obsessed lover then a king who is extremely ambitious and finally to a peace
lover human being. The story is a brief glimpse into the life of Emperor Asoka, grandson
of Chandragupta Maurya and the son of Bindusara, who ascended the |
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throne of Magadha in the 3rd century BC.
Asoka (Shahrukh Khan) grows up in a environment where he is hated by his step-mother and
half-brother Susima (Ajit). His mother and brother put up continuous efforts to poison his
father, King Bindusara's, (Gerson Da Cunha) mind against him. Susima's eyes are all set
for the throne of Magadha and he
makes several attempts to kill Asoka but in vain. Finally, Asoka leaves Magadha to save
his life and outside Magadha , he meets Princess Kaurwaki (Kareena Kapoor) who too has |
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escaped from Kalinga after her parents were murdered. Asoka
and Kaurwaki fall in love with each other and get married. Asoka gets shattered on one
instance when he learns that Kaurwaki along with her brother Prince Arya (Rahul Dev) have
been murdered. He loses faith in love and returns to Magadha. He becomes power hungry and
his aim now becomes that of ruling the world. He marries again to Devi |
(Hrishita Bhatt) who tries her best to make him overcome his
past life but fails. Meanwhile Asoka in his endeavour to become an Emperor wages a small
war against Kalinga where he realises that Kaurwaki is alive. He goes searching for her
and then comes a turning point in his life when he sees the badly mutiliated bodies and
mourning relatives on the battlefield. He gets extremely pained by all this bloodshed that
he has caused. He takes over |
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to Buddhism and starts a new life searching for enlightenment. This is what the
film Asoka is all about.
"Asoka" happens to be the second home production of Shahrukh Khan and Juhi
Chawla after "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani". The film Asoka stands apart from the
current Bollywood films which have nothing to do with history. The film has been produced
by Arclightz and Films Pvt. Limited. Asoka is one of the most |
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expensive films made in the recent times and Director
Santosh Sivan though has chosen a historical subject has failed to depict the life of the
Emperor in whole. He has mainly focussed on Asoka's love for Kauwaki possibly to attract
the modern audience of today. As a cinematographer, santosh Sivan's work is good but not
as a co-writer alongwith Saket Choudhary since there are many loopholes in the script.
Dialogues by Abbas Tyrewala is well-written. Music by Anu Malik is good, not excellent.
The audience expected |
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better numbers from this much-hyped film. Only "Raat ka Nasha"
and "Roshni se" can be termed as melodious. "San sanana " is extremely
well picturised. Choreography by Farah Khan gives a present day feeling. Performances by
all the stars are excellent but it is the Bollywood Emperor Shahrukh Khan who steals the
show. He has portrayed the character with a lot of enthusiasm and charisma. He has proved
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versatility in this one movie alone showing the contrast in
his character from the fierce emperor to a romantic lover. He has worked too well on his
character and has acted very carefully putting his soul and mind into the role. Kareena
Kapoor, too has acted very well and this film can be termed as her best film till date.
She has been lucky to get this role so early in her career. Suraj Balaji as Arya is
outstanding and his death sequence has been brilliantly executed. Danny has been wasted.
Hrishita Bhatt proves her talent and the audience are truly looking forward to seeing more
of her films in the future. Rahul Dev has acted well enough to leave an impact. The others
are OK.
Overall, Asoka is worth a watch being such a unique film. |
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