THE WAR SEQUENCE

The war sequence towards the end of the film is both beautiful and intense. The sands of 'Samodh', 50 Kms from Jaipur (Rajashtan) gave the war sequence a harsh, bare, dusty feel. The harshness of the desert sun worked well to portray the physical hardship of the people fighting the 'Kalinga' war.

A team of about 500 fighters under action director, Sham Kaushal traveled to Samodh and the rest of the team comprised of 'Kallari' and 'Paiko' fight groups, a traditional fight form from Southern India.

On the days we required long shots of huge armies on either side of the battlefield, around 5000 villagers were packed into buses and rushed into the shooting area from all the neighboring villages around Samodh.

With only a few hands in the Costume Department and thousands of people to dress, it was a mammoth task accomplished in record time. During the day Santosh continued shooting the actual war, at around 4:30 in the evening two of the Assistants from the Direction team would demarcate an area facing the setting sun and set up the post-war shots, for Asoka's walk through the bloodied battlefield after the war was over. The sand was a blessing as the dummy arms; legs, heads and bodies could be fixed effectively in the sand in about 15 to 20 minutes. The torn limbs sticking out of the sand gave a gory and a very real feel of the aftermath of the war. Dead bodies of soldiers half covered in sand and with bloodied armor glinting in the sun made the post war sequence intense and gripping.

Camel carts carried all the art direction props required for the evening, 'magic sky' shots. Chariot wheels, pools of blood, torn, tattered flags, broken armor, dummy heads, bodies and hundred's of gallons of blood. All these elements were put together every evening for the post war sequence.

At the end of the war, when there are no more soldiers left to fight and the horses run bare back, it is a touching sight. Almost as if they have gone crazy with rage.

With the Kallari and Paiko fighters in the foreground and the larger war ensuing in the background, the action seems synchronized and choreographed, rather than just action. The charge of fifty elephants and the spectacular Magadha army is beautiful. The indigo blue turbans of the Kalinga army look stark and bright in the harsh desert sun. The inter cuts of the long shots of the war and close ups of 'Chandasoka' killing ruthlessly are very effective.

The grassy patches of the desert sand ('Kaans' plant) with cotton like ends shimmered like glass in the hot sun and looked even more beautiful and soft against the evening sky. Sometimes in the evenings the sun hadn't gone down completely and the moon was already clear in the sky above, these shots of the desert moon were a gift to 'Asoka'. As 'Asoka' stood against the evening sky holding a dead child with the moon behind him, it rendered a soft, calm peaceful disposition to him. As though he had realized, achieved salvation.

The second unit continued shooting in a separate area, shots such as the burning pyres, wailing widows etc. There were six camera's rolling at one time to shoot the war from varied angles. The Jimmy Jib and the Akela crane also took some unforgettable shots of the war (long shots - Akela).

At the end of each shooting the day, there was a lot of creative input on the post war sequence from all members of the crew i.e. the Buddhist monks rushing to help the wounded and dying soldiers, the boy threatening Asoka with the flame, the dying man refusing water from Asoka's hands etc.

Within fifteen days of chilly three o clock mornings and burning afternoons, the war sequence was over but the memories would live on.