Talk:Asoka (film)

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[edit] Criticism of film

Anon, I agree that the film is a poor depiction of Ashoka. It takes a serious subject and turns it into a cartoon. But the thing is, I don't recall reading any criticism of it on those grounds. I was just starting to read Rediff in those days (that's where I keep up on Bollywood) and I may just have missed the criticism. But we can't really say that many people criticized it if it is conceivably just you and me who thought it sucked. Surely you could find a link to some online review. Don't leave it up to me. Learn to support your opinion with a reference. Zora 01:24, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

I realize this isn't a factual depiction of Ashoka, but I have to say that in my experience you either hated this film or you loved it. Since it was the first I ever saw, that colors my view I admit, though, it still stands up for me. But why I like this film is more because; even though it is most certainly BW, it isn't just limited to the usual saccharine love story (you know the one: love match vs. arranged marriage, scheming aunt, etc...), though it does depend on the same devices under different guises. There are historical (romantic and legendary as they may be) sets, and a breathtaking battle scene that is up there with Braveheart's (which was seriously historically flawed itself) in its execution. I liked seeing the old weapons - though I don't know if they were accurate to the time. Why a nation with such a rich history, literature and tales of gandharvas and apsaras (the Ramayana serial notwithstanding), etc., doesn't try this "daring" stuff more often is a shame... but that's another discussion altogether which I'm sure has been done to death in a more subject appropriate discussion (whither the Indian LOTR's?!). Basically, I love Bollywood and all, I wouldn't have stopped trying to keep track of all the ones I've seen after my hundreth film otherwise. But give me the occassional gritty Maqbool or a movie set in the misty past, like Aśoka - movies which don't have the same ol' sappy happy ending (even if it be a sappy sad ending like Phir Milenge) - that I might cleanse my palate between all the sometimes unbearingly cheery escapism (after all, I'm not holding my breath for Hindi art-house cinema given the broader cultural context, though Amir Khan comes close sometimes). Khirad^talk 02:36, 26 January 2006 (UTC)