|
| Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews, Miranda Richardson, Ray Panthaki, Nandita Das | | Director: Jag Mundra | | Music: AR Rahman |
Anupama Chopra, Consulting Editor, Films
Provoked is based on the landmark case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a Punjabi housewife in the UK, who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her brutal husband.
After 10 long years, when she could no longer bear the mental, physical and sexual torture, she doused him with kerosene while he was sleeping and set him on fire. Kiranjit was found guilty of murder and given life imprisonment.
But her courage and the determination of an NGO called 'The Southhall Black Sisters' overturned the judgement.
Eventually Kiranjit was given a reduced sentence and set free after three years and four months in jail. Her case altered British law, redefining the word provocation in the case of battered women.
This is a gut-wrenching story and director Jag Mundra tells it surprisingly well.
Mundra is known for silly soft porn movies like Monsoon but don't let his shady reputation put you off this one.
The screenplay, by Rahila Gupta and Carl Austin, is well crafted. The violence is shown only in intermittent flashbacks and so it comes through more effectively.
Mundra doesn't display great directorial flourish but he has wisely assembled a stellar cast who help him to keep things on track.
Miranda Richardson plays Kiranjit's tough-as-nails cellmate, Naveen Andrews is her slap happy husband and Nandita Das is the activist who pushes Kiranjit to save herself.
But Provoked ultimately is a triumph for Aishwarya Rai. Through her decade long career, Aishwarya has been consistently inconsistent.
With the right directors she is ethereal and with the wrong ones, she is alarmingly vapid.
There are a few stray moments in Provoked when she looks too manicured to be abused but for the most part, she hits the right notes.
Her eyes and body are hollow with grief. Provoked hits snags, especially in the second hour and some scenes are too pat. The film totally overlooks how the trauma of an abusive father and then, an incarcerated mother impacted on Kiranjit's young sons.
But overall, Provoked is a strong, deeply moving statement about one woman's struggle against overwhelming odds. I recommend that you see it!
|
|
Surfer Speaks....
i think the movie is a good eye opener to those wives who r treated as dirt and door mats to be used and thrown at will.Aishwarya's acting is quite realistic and brought out the trauma and emotions remarkably,she deserves the national and international awards.Hats off to aishwarya and the makers of the movie -- buddini
The movie is highly overrated and does not deserve a discussion. A touching real life story should have been treated more emotionally. Probably its Aishwaria's "force fitted" emotional scenes which puts you off. Lets face it she just can't act. -- Neelav (neelavus@yahoo.com)
Provoked is based on the landmark case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a Punjabi housewife in the UK, who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her brutal husband -- sridhar (sridharbabu.n@gmail.com)
|
|
|
|
|
|