FIRST LOOK "Asoka" is an epic tale of one of the greatest rulers of India and a testament to the redemptive power of love, though it's forced in the telling.

Liberties taken with
Indian epic movie ‘Asoka’

HIFF schedule

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By Shawn 'Speedy' Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com

Many Indian symbols, including the wheel on the national flag of India, can be attributed to Asoka, one of India's greatest historical figures. Born more than 2,000 years ago as the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, first emperor of India, Asoka is said to have been a wise and capable statesman. Upon his father's death, Asoka claimed the emperor's throne and unified nearly the entire Indian subcontinent through several military campaigns, before ultimately abdicating a life of war and adopting the Buddhist philosophy.

Part of the dilemma for director Santosh Sivan, who co-authored "Asoka" with screenplay writer Saket Chaudhary, lies in the melding of fiction with historical fact, hence the film's often disjointed plot line. In an attempt to endear the audience to the movie's central figure, the Asoka character (played by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan) is introduced as a charismatic, carefree rogue. When the plot begins to travel along historical lines three-quarters of the way through the film, however, his sudden transformation into a merciless, bloodthirsty ruler is puzzling and unexpected.

Asoka's out-of-the-blue marriage to Buddhist Devi happens without the development of a relationship, while an earlier drawn-out affair with the exotic princess Kaurwaki appears forced into the story for wider public appeal. The entire romantic subplot is conventional, if not downright predictable: Boy meets girl, boy pursues girl, tough girl shuns his advances, boy softens approach and eventually wins girl.

Several other artistic liberties are taken with this Indian epic. In typical Bollywood fashion, the film features a number of MTV-like song-and-dance sequences which seem to pop up out of nowhere every 30 minutes or so.

But perhaps its biggest shortcoming lies in its failure to fully capitalize on its underlying theme of peace and compassion. While the Dalai Lama has praised the movie for highlighting the life of one of Buddhism's first royal converts, the film makes very little note of Asoka's life-altering religious conversion. Even the pivotal battle of Kalinga, which led to Asoka's renunciation of war, doesn't take place until the film's end, nearly three hours after its opening credits.

The dazzling fight scenes, such as the attack on Kalinga, are choreographed as well as any Shaolin kung fu feature, and some of Sivan's cinematic touches are rather compelling. "Asoka" is enjoyable in spots, but for a movie charged with the task of illustrating the life one of India's most prominent historical figures, it falls short of realizing its potential.

"Asoka" Not rated Playing at noon tomorrow

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