"Whose journey can be greater than that of an emperor?"
Hello everyone!
I won't even apologize anymore, at this point I've come to resign myself to the fact that about half my blog posts will be about some Hindi movie or other, haha!
Tonight's choice is a historical, epic drama, however, something which I hope will appeal to a lot of the readers who click on these links.
How did I end up watching it? Well, considering the main actor isn't my personal favourite (he's alright, but nah), I kind of landed in it mostly by accident because I was bored, had nothing to do, and it popped up on Netflix (speaking of, Kalki just released on the same platform ...).
So there I was, liking the main actress, and deciding, sure, why not?
Which means we're headed back into the past tonight, everyone, to discuss a movie titled Asoka.
Links to some related posts can be found at the bottom of the page, as per usual.
Now, if you think Asoka has anything to do with a certain lightsaber-wielding Jedi ... you'd be wrong. It's got absolutely nothing to do with Ashoka, although the main character's name IS occasionally spelled that way.
Anyway.
Ashoka is one of the princes of the royal family of Maurya, and his grandfather decides he's had enough of pretty much everything, embraces a non-violent religion, and throws his sword into the river. The kid's mad, because that sword is HIS, excuse you, so he fishes it out again and then trains from dawn til dusk with it, aiming to become the best of the best.
Meanwhile, his elder half-brother is plotting how to get rid of him, without being directly involved, of course, since kinslaying is kind of a no-no in this culture.
Unfortunately for him, no matter what he and his other siblings do, Ashoka always comes out on top, whether it be through direct assassination attempts, or being sent only half the army to defeat an advancing enemy. Ultimately successful, his power and influence grow, but because he's only the son of the emperor's second wife, the first one's son is mad as a hornet and wants him gone.
Ashoka's mother, terrified for her son's life and practically ordered to do something after Ashoka challenges another half-brother to a duel (the dude was sure to lose, because, obviously), takes a vow of silence, which she will only break if he leaves.
Even though he hates it, Ashoka loves his mother more than anything, so he heads on out into the wilderness, chopping off his bad wig hair (listen ... that long wig on SRK was NOT it, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise) and landing in a village where he defeats this guy named Virat in competition, the only one to do so.
This, of course, incurs the other man's wrath, so that's going to follow him, but the kid's busy ogling a dancing maiden who claims she's of warrior blood and any man approaching her should beware.
Said maiden happens to be Kaurwaki, a Kalinga princess on the run after her parents were killed practically before her eyes, and that of her little brother, the rightful heir to the throne. She plays coy with Ashoka, too, but when he rescues the two of them from violent men intent on dragging them back for the reward that's been placed on their heads, things might have turned out very well.
If Kalinga's general didn't bonk him over the head, that is.
Kaurwaki, mad, insists on caring for him until he wakes up, and the two gradually become closer; Ashoka also develops a bond with Arya, and things seem to be looking up, except, well, the general doesn't like it.
My theory is that it's because he wants Kaurwaki for himself, but it's just MY theory; anyway, he tells Kaurwaki she's actually adopted, and the royal family found her by the river, so she's not a princess by blood. Feeling lost, the girl loses most of her fighter spirit and tells Ashoka (who, by the way, introduced himself to her as Pawan) that she doesn't even know who she is anymore.
Determined, he takes her hand and marries her on the spot, although the flame they light is extinguished VERY quickly, which frightens onlookers, but he shushes them while Kaurwaki doesn't see, and lights it again.
This is potentially foreshadowing for later on, because right after all this, he receives a message that his mother's deadly ill, so he promises Kaurwaki and Arya that he'll return, and rushes off to be with the older woman ... who turns out NOT to be ill at all, but used that as an excuse to bring him back again. Why? Gods only know, since his half-brothers STILL want him dead and all.
At this time, rebellion breaks out, and because Ashoka's probably the most fearsome and experienced general they have, the emperor orders him to ride out and quell it. Ashoka promises to do so, but detours to reunite with his young wife.
Only, he doesn't find her.
He finds the general, alright, but the general holds out Kaurwaki's anklet and points to a mound of ash; viewers know that, while Ashoka was away, the village where the royals were hiding was attacked, and two innocent people were killed in Kaurwaki and Arya's place.
But the general's had it in for "Pawan" since the get-go, and tells him Kaurwaki's dead, which crushes Ashoka to the point that he loses all the will to live. Virat chooses this moment to crop back up again, to beat the crud out of the kid who tricked him, but Ashoka doesn't even put up a fight. When soldiers come to escort their prince back, Virat swears he'll be the man's shield and protector, from this day until his last.
Covering himself in ashes, Ashoka unleashes his rage and pain on the rebellion, making sure to stomp it into dirt, not just quelling it, but he gets attacked from behind in the process and is gravely injured. Recovering at a Buddhist temple, his life is rescued by a young acolyte, Devi, who wouldn't permit any of her patients to be harmed in any way.
Alas, violence is as anti-Buddhism as it gets, and even self-defense is considered criminal, so Devi effectively botches up her chances of marriage, but luckily, Ashoka's awake by this point, aware what's going on, and even though he loves Kaurwaki with all he is, he marries Devi on the spot to protect her.
They return to his family's home, and just miss Kaurwaki and Arya by a hair: see, the princess has been searching for "Pawan" all this time, but no one in the army knows of a man by that name, and eventually, she follows the general home, when Kalinga calls out for the rightful heir. Turns out, the prime minister is behind the assassination attempts, and the murder of the king and queen, so they depose him, and Arya is enthroned.
Tragedy continues to reign, however, because Ashoka's half-brother is mad with fear, particularly because HE can't sire children, but Devi's pregnant, so he sends assassins to take her out of the equation. Ashoka's mother hears the commotion and ends up victim of the entire scheme instead, which blows Ashoka's lid.
Kaurwaki's "death" pissed him off. His mother's, however, boils everything over.
Descending upon the palace (his father's dead, by and by), he and Virat end up killing all his brothers, some more, some less intentionally, and Ashoka is crowned Emperor. He then embarks on a bloody conquest, despite the fact that Devi leaves his side and returns home to her temple, as she doesn't wish her child to be witness to such atrocities as Ashoka commits in the name of unifying the land.
The only kingdom to really put up a stand is Kalinga, and of course, knowing Kaurwaki was from Kalinga, Ashoka heads on over there, because why not?
Except, by this point, he's largely feared and people serve him through their hatred of him, while he only wishes to unite everyone, in a misguided notion that when he wins it all, he'll have it all.
That's about as bad as any conqueror can ever get, of course, and Kaurwaki's the one to galvanize even the women of her people into action, after the general's death, so they meet the Mauryans in the field, which goes pretty well for them ... until Ashoka actually shows up.
Now, it has to be said, that Virat abandons him at this point, too, saying that he's become someone he doesn't know anymore, and there's no NEED to subjugate Kalinga and kill all those innocents. Even his own brother turns his back on Ashoka after the victory, leaving the emperor to wander the fields covered with the dead on his own.
This is where he and Kaurwaki finally meet again, and he can't even believe it. She wants to kill him on the spot, then cries that she searched for him, but he didn't return. For some reason, Ashoka doesn't tell her what happened (I call this criminal writing), but they're both distracted when Arya pops up, peppered through with arrows. Ashoka holds the boy until he dies, and finishes telling him the story he started way back when.
Then, he, too throws his sword in the same river his grandfather tossed it in in the first place, committing himself to being a traveler whose journey will be finished, and spreading the message of Buddhism with the help of his twins, born of Devi.
And if THAT isn't a 180 twist, I don't know what is!
Dramatic, though occasionally over-acted, Asoka is a fictionalized tale of the emperor's early years and rule, as well as what, maybe, turned him away from conquest to spreading his message more peacefully. It focuses on solely two women in his life, although he had a bunch of wives, and tries to utilize SRK and Kareena Kapoor to the best of its abilities.
Is it campy? Oh hell yes. It also has certain loopholes, like Ashoka not telling Kaurwaki how the general basically screwed them over and ensured the following events, and some of the comedy feels a bit forced.
It is, however, entertaining, and easy on the eyes, with a few captivating musical numbers. SRK actually shines as Ashoka tilts more into the negative, and I wish we could have gotten MORE of him in that light. Overall, it's an experience for sure, and definitely one of the older Hindi movies to watch from SRK's filmography if you're looking for something on a rainy day!
xx
*images and video not mine
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