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Ashwathama

09/07/15

ASHWATHAMA
Some Myths Never Die
BY RAJAT GULATI

SYNOPSIS
Just about 5000 years ago, the Mahabharata war enveloped an entire sub-continent
and laid waste an entire generation of warriors. In the many legends that it spawned,
there is one of a man who not only survived, but was doomed to live forever
Ashwathama, a proud and mighty warrior, is now just a footnote to the struggle
between the princes of Hastinapur. But what if he is truly alive?
Dr Deepti Verma, an archaeologist and historian at the University of Delhi, is deeply
interested in the legends of ancient India. She accidentally stumbles upon a fragment
of manuscript that may contain the strongest ever proof of Ashwathamas immortality.
Written just about 2000 years ago, it describes a sadhu who is said to be of the time
when gods walked the earth.
While Deepti is convinced that she may be onto something, her professor Dr Hari
Mohan attempts to dissuade her. However unwilling to let go of her possible proof,
she decides to journey into the high Himalayas in search of her quarry, alone.
Her search leads her to the remotest part of Uttaranchal, where the villagers worship
Duryodhana and often practise polyandry. It is here that she meets an uncomfortably
attractive and mysterious Anant Tiwari, a part time mountaineer. She also runs into
the local pradhan, Suraj Singh, who practically threatens her and asks her to leave.
Unfazed, Deepti continues questioning the locals despite the growing hostility in the
locals. Where she was once politely received, she is now brusquely told to get out of
the region. At one particular temple retreat, she is accosted by a wild-looking rishi,
Dharmesh Yogi, who tries to assault her it is only the timely arrival of Anant that
saves her that day!
Anant then reveals that he is a CBI officer and and explains the reason for the local
hostility drug trafficking! These remote villages are poppy farms as well as the route
used by the smugglers and Anant is trying to uncover the ringleaders.
Unwilling to give up her search, Deepti agrees to leave but double tracks and heads
further north very close to the border. She wants to check out one last retreat, where a
highly venerated muni comes to stay, in once a decade or so.
Reaching the ashram site late at night, Deepti decides to venture in anyway and walks
into a hotbed of criminal activity with Suraj and Dharmesh directing the efforts of
the men. Two of Dharmesh men drag in a decrepit looking rishi. The man makes no
opposition as Suraj whips him with his gun and then shoots him in cold blood.

By Rajat Gulati

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Ashwathama

09/07/15

Unable to stop herself, Deepti lets out an anguished cry alerting everyone of her
presence. She is quickly dragged and pulled in front of Suraj and Dharmesh, who
abuse her for meddling and Dharmesh tries to force himself on her but is thrown off
by a powerful blow.
The seemingly dead sadhu has come alive and before they even realise what is
happening, the smugglers are being routed and are forced to take to their heels. Even
as the smugglers regroup, the rishi leads Deepti into the mountains to a small refuge.
While he is still alive, the bullet is working its poison inside him, and it is only
Deeptis ministrations that help him to recover.
Slowly Deepti wins over the trust of the ancient warrior, for he is none other than
Ashwathama himself. Even though the two are forced to converse only in Sanskrit, it
is as if the great sage has been silent for aeons and cannot help himself from speaking.
As Deepti listens spellbound to the stories of the Age of Krishna, she finds herself
drawn and falling in love.
Deepti now decides to call Hari and share her discovery. At the village booth, she is
seen by Anant. Overhearing her conversation, Anant realises the importance of her
discovery and mobilises his men. Deepti is followed and the two are whisked away
to a secret location.
It is here that Anant true nature is revealed. He is the real mastermind behind the
smuggling ring of Suraj Singh and Dharmesh Yogi. And Anant has realised the
importance of Ashwathama. He believes that through Ashwathama, he can learn the
secret of immortality. When Ashwathama refuses to reveal anything, Anant decides to
cut open the warrior in order to analyse his body.
Meanwhile, unable to bear the pain that Ashwathama is being put to, Deepti agrees to
obtain the secret from him. Instead, the two manage to escape again and with their
routes blocked, make their way into the mountains. Even as Annas men circle around
them and draw closer, Ashwathama is able to reach the hoard of weapons that he had
hidden centuries before - the mace, the sword, and the bow.
Now the tables are truly turned. Using the strategic skills and fighting skills that he
learnt centuries before, he outwits and outmanoeuvres the entire criminal force. Once
again the land of Bharat witnesses the deadly use of the secret astras of yore for
which the guns of Anant and Suraj are no match. In the final climactic battle,
Ashwathama takes on Anant with only a mace and triumphs.
With even Deepti understanding that the two of them could never be together,
Ashwathama returns back to the mountains to live out eternity in peace and isolation.

By Rajat Gulati

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Ashwathama

09/07/15

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Ashwathama:
Son of Dronacharya, Ashwathama was appointed general of the Kaurava forces when
Duryodhana lay dying. Already resentful of the way, in which Drona was killed,
Ashwathama infringed the Kshatriya code and murdered the Panadavas five sons
while they were sleeping. Cursed to live forever, he gave up his arms and disappeared
into the mountains.
For many centuries, he wandered as a mendicant and visited several countries
(including china where he taught a martial art that would be known as karate), but
finding no peace returned to the Himalayan peaks. His only wish now is to isolate
himself from the world and continue to meditate in some inaccessible retreat.
After meeting Deepti, his hopes of leading an ordinary life are rekindled but are
dashed by the machinations of Anant. At the end, he realises that there can be no
reprieve for him and he must return to the peaks and remain alone forever.
[My choice: somebody well built like say, Sunil Shetty with those slightly Neanderthal
looks]
Dr Deepti Verma: archaeologist and historian
A very dedicated yet headstrong scholar, Deepti is focused on her research to the point
where she is willing to risk her life to prove her theories. Despite her best intentions,
she falls in love with the strong but taciturn Ashwathama but knows that this love can
never be fulfilled. She allows Ashwathama to retreat into the mountains knowing that
bringing him into the modern world would only want to exploit him for his
knowledge and treat him like a freak, a circus animal for show.
[My choice: Preity Zinta/Sushmita Sen beautiful, intelligent yet vulnerable looking]
Anant Tiwari:
A CBI officer, Anant is a very intelligent man who has completely sacrificed any
ideals he may have had in his greed for wealth and power. He not only collaborates
with the very men that he has been sent to capture but also soon becomes their leader
and mastermind behind the drug Mafia. He is a man who is able to use his exterior
charm into manipulating people and thus is able to win the trust of Deepti.
He knows that the secret of immortality is of far bigger import than any ordinary drug
ring he is thus willing to take the risk of blowing his cover in order to learn the
secret.
[My choice: Manoj Bajpai probably, somebody with a certain magnetism yet able to
act really evil]

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Ashwathama

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Suraj Singh:
A small time village pradhan, penury and desperation have forced him to take up
illicit trades. His importance to the ring lies in the fact that he leads his villagers and is
able to make them obey the diktat of the drug Mafia.
[My choice: Any baddie, probably Avtar Gill or someone, just has to have a leer and
be convincing as a pahadi village headman]
Dharmesh Yogi:
Another psychopath, Dharmesh poses as a sadhu in order to gain legitimacy and be
able to wander the mountains freely. In truth, he is a completely amoral man who will
let nothing come between him and his desires. It is only the personal charisma of
Anant that keeps him in check and stops him from running totally amok.
[My choice: Gulshan Grover complete with leers, wild eyes and crazy sadhu get up]
Dr Hari Mohan:
Deeptis senior professor, he dismisses her theory of Ashwathama being alive as an
old myth and refuses the sanction of a proper expedition. Deepti is then forced to head
out on her search alone.
[My Choice: Any character actor, say Alok Nath]

STRUCTURE
The movie begins with a prologue showing the final moments of the Mahabharata war
Duryodhanas defeat, Ashwathamas ascension to Kaurava general and his shameful
betrayal of the Kshatriya code and murder of Draupadis sons, his exile to live forever.
5000 years later, we meet Deepti Verma, brilliant but headstrong archaeologist and
historian. The Mahabharat and the many myths that surround it have always
fascinated Deepti. Her chance discovery of an ancient manuscript convinces her that
there may be some truth in the legend of Ashwathama. She decides to break
conventions and go into the Himalayas to search for possibly, the oldest man in the
world.
Her quest leads her high into the mountains where she runs into an increasingly
strange and hostile set of villagers, led by the local pradhan Suraj Singh. As she tries
questioning the older members in the village and seeks out the little known ashrams,
she runs into the charming but mysterious Anant Tiwari. Anant is very attractive and
even saves her once from the clutches of the psychopathic Dharmesh Yogi.
When Anant tells her that he is a CBI officer and explains to her that the villagers are
growing illegal drugs, Deepti is almost convinced to leave. But then she learns of a
strange sadhu who comes down from the highest peaks only once a decade or so. She
decides to visit his ashram in one final try.
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Ashwathama

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What she finds are Suraj and Dharmesh overseeing a major consignment of drugs
being unloaded at the ashram. Suddenly the strange sadhu is brought in front of them
and Suraj shoots him in cold blood. Deepti lets out a cry of terror and is captured and
brought in front of the two ringleaders.
Even as the two try to force her, the sadhu who has been shot suddenly comes to life
and overpowers Suraj and Dharmesh and their men and escapes with Deepti. The
sadhu who is none other than Ashwathama himself leads Deepti to a small refuge
some distance away. While alive, the bullet wound has spread its poison in his body
and Deepti slowly nurses him back to health.
There follows a brief interlude in which Ashwathama (who speaks only Sanskrit)
recalls the happier times of the mahabharata age and the many adventures that he has
seen since then, but how in the end he resigned himself to a life of isolation. Slowly
love develops between the two.
Deepti, having convinced Ashwathama to reenter the world, goes to the village to
arrange for transport. Her conversation is overheard by Anant who follows her to the
refuge and takes the two of them captive.
Despite much torture Ashwathama refuses to reveal the secrets of immortality or
ancient weaponry. Through a ruse, the two manage to escape from the den but are
followed into the mountains by Anant and Suraj and their men.
Ashwathama recovers the hoard of weapons that have lain unused for centuries.
Suddenly the hunter has become the hunted. With the great astras at his disposal and
his superior military skills, Ashwathama takes on the entire army of criminals and
wipes them out.
Realising that Ashwathama would only be exploited and would never fit into the
modern world, Deepti allows him to return to the Himalayan peaks to live his life in
solitude and isolation.
THE END

By Rajat Gulati

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