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asoka and kaurwaki Today in the world of cinema, I saw something completely new to me. After reading various descriptions of what to expect and curious to see what I had been missing, I finally saw my first film from Bollywood and I surprisingly liked what I saw on the screen. Yes, the music interludes were jarring at first, but they didn't bother me like songs do in American musicals. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the division between the plot of the movie and the music sections is so distinct that it didn't annoy me. I'd almost go so far as to say that I liked some of the songs, but that might have more to do with the dancing women than the songs. I might even have to join the Kareena Kapoor fan club. Overall Asoka is an historical film about an emperor who gave up a life of fighting to spread Buddhism. That small fact was what drew me to the film in the first place. Besides that plot thread, there was a trio of actors who were a mixture of Greek chorus and Shakespearean fools. These people would appear every so often and comment on the previous scene. Now as to whether this is a common element of Indian films is unknown to me, but I liked it for some reason. They clearly broke the fourth wall and that was okay with me. |