Like its put-upon heroine, "Provoked " is caught between two worlds. For Bollywood fans, used to coy depictions of love and sex, this battered- wife drama -- based on a true story that changed British laws regarding spousal abuse -- may daringly tell it like it is. Others will see a tamed and glamorized fiction that rises to the level of a good Lifetime movie -- but only just.
In any case, Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai was probably the wrong choice to play Kiranjit Ahluwalia , who on May 9, 1989, set her husband Deepak (Naveen Andrews ) on fire after years of beatings at his hands. With her delicate features and immense, startlingly blue eyes, Rai comes across as the supermodel of immigrant Punjabi wives, and her wounded-bird performance has, at best, three notes. It's a sympathetic performance but not a compelling one.
The story, on the other hand, can't help but be. After Kiranjit's crime and her husband's death days later, she's rushed through London's criminal system with few protections. Because there was a two-hour "cooling down" period between the final beating and her attack, magistrates rule out self-defense and a jury agrees. Kiranjit's British barrister (Rebecca Pidgeon ) is shown to be well-intentioned but uninventive, and it's up to an women's activist group led by Radha Dalal (Nandita Das ) to marshal forces for an appeal.
In the interim between the trials, "Provoked" turns into a genteel, sisterly women-in-prison movie as the heroine is cajoled out of her shell by the sweetest gang of gaolbirds you'll ever meet. Well, there is that butch bully with the bad teeth, but Kiranjit's cellmate Ronnie (Miranda Richardson , letting her hair down with extra relish) protects the newcomer while telling of her own injuries at the hands of husbands and the law.
Every so often, director Jag Mundhra flashes back to scenes of Kiranjit's abusive marriage, turning up the soap-opera music with blunt effectiveness. "Provoked" gathers momentum toward the end, as Radha finds helpful loopholes and a barrister (Robbie Coltrane ) willing to take advantage of them, and as the heroine's spine starts to stiffen with the support of her new friends.
There's an interesting movie in here, too, about the isolation of Indian brides brought to a new country by strange new husbands and mistreated, but "Provoked" rarely ducks below its glossy surface to go there. It'll seem like raw stuff to viewers raised on demure Bollywood musicals, but compared to the 1984 TV movie "The Burning Bed " -- let alone the tip of the iceberg we see in the news -- "Provoked" doesn't hit back nearly hard enough.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Aishwarya Rai's 'Provoked' a winner at UK box office
20th Apr 2007 09.01 IST
By Agencies
The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai 's latest film Provoked has turned out to be a box office winner in the UK.
Ash, who is set to tie the knot with Abhishek Bachchan today in Mumbai, plays the pivotal role of a battered Indian housewife based in the UK in the film.
'Eros International', distributor of the film, said in a statement Thursday that ‘Provoked’, released on April 6, has crossed Fox Searchlight distributed The Namesake 's weekend box office takings in the UK.
‘The Namesake’ is directed by Mira Nair and stars Irrfan Khan and Tabu .
‘Provoked’ grossed 1,40,204 pounds with just 35 prints as against 1,25,084 pounds for ‘The Namesake’ with 59 prints in its opening weekend, thus giving a nearly double screen average of 4,005 pounds as against 2,120 pounds for ‘The Namesake’.
Time Out London, a tabloid, refers to ‘Provoked’ as a film that "packs a Punch". Daily Mirror, another tabloid, said the film was "a worthy story and this drama deals with the delicate subject matter with a sensitive touch", giving the film three stars.
‘Provoked’ is the true life story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia (played by Ash), the Indian woman who overturned the British judicial system and transformed the meaning of 'provocation' in the case of physically abused women, winning justice for women subjected to domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse.
The film, directed by Jagmohan Mundhra and based on Ahluwalia's autobiography Circle of Light, follows her lonely struggle in an abusive ten-year marriage, her retaliation through the murder of her violent husband and efforts of women activists to bring her justice.
20th Apr 2007 09.01 IST
By Agencies
The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai 's latest film Provoked has turned out to be a box office winner in the UK.
Ash, who is set to tie the knot with Abhishek Bachchan today in Mumbai, plays the pivotal role of a battered Indian housewife based in the UK in the film.
'Eros International', distributor of the film, said in a statement Thursday that ‘Provoked’, released on April 6, has crossed Fox Searchlight distributed The Namesake 's weekend box office takings in the UK.
‘The Namesake’ is directed by Mira Nair and stars Irrfan Khan and Tabu .
‘Provoked’ grossed 1,40,204 pounds with just 35 prints as against 1,25,084 pounds for ‘The Namesake’ with 59 prints in its opening weekend, thus giving a nearly double screen average of 4,005 pounds as against 2,120 pounds for ‘The Namesake’.
Time Out London, a tabloid, refers to ‘Provoked’ as a film that "packs a Punch". Daily Mirror, another tabloid, said the film was "a worthy story and this drama deals with the delicate subject matter with a sensitive touch", giving the film three stars.
‘Provoked’ is the true life story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia (played by Ash), the Indian woman who overturned the British judicial system and transformed the meaning of 'provocation' in the case of physically abused women, winning justice for women subjected to domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse.
The film, directed by Jagmohan Mundhra and based on Ahluwalia's autobiography Circle of Light, follows her lonely struggle in an abusive ten-year marriage, her retaliation through the murder of her violent husband and efforts of women activists to bring her justice.
Ambient sound: Natural sounds such as Birds singing and trees swaying to depict the harmonic portrayal of the family life between the two couples...yet.
Antagonist: The villain, the male in Provoked can be inferred to be the antagonist as he inflicts violence and brutality on his wife.
Biopic: This refers to a film based on a true life story. Provoked is the true story of Kiranjit Aluwalia who murders her husband un- intensially in order to seek revenge for the 10 years she has suffered in silence from domestic violence.
Cahiers du Cineme: A French magazine which emphasise the need to reflect contemporary life experiences. Provoked does this as the audience become aware of the true life story which portrays how Kiranjit Aluwalia in Southall suffered from domestic violence from her husband.
Counterculture: a subculture that rejects the mainstream values of society. When Provoked was shot, in 1996, females were considered to be subordinate to males and therefore no-one fought with the views they had. However, a group named Southall Black sisters, full of females attempt to bring Aishwarya Rai’s in just sentence to publicity by doing all sorts of things.
Dutch angle: This term refers to a type of camera shot which involves tilting the camera to create a sense of distortion. This is used in Provoked when Aishwarya Rai attempts to burn her fire to portray her immorality.
Liberal feminism: Feminism is defiantly a key theme in Provoked, and feminists such as Southall Black sisters help bring Aishwarirya Rai’s case to light.
Method acting- Konstantin Stanislavsky: Aishwarya Rai merges herself psychologically into the character she is representing, for example Kiranjit Aluwalia to match the emotions of the character to create a film that is high in validity.
Video nasty: This refers to a video with a high level of violence and sexual violence as its principal content. Although this is not the primary theme in provoked, it is integrated within the movie as it progresses.
Antagonist: The villain, the male in Provoked can be inferred to be the antagonist as he inflicts violence and brutality on his wife.
Biopic: This refers to a film based on a true life story. Provoked is the true story of Kiranjit Aluwalia who murders her husband un- intensially in order to seek revenge for the 10 years she has suffered in silence from domestic violence.
Cahiers du Cineme: A French magazine which emphasise the need to reflect contemporary life experiences. Provoked does this as the audience become aware of the true life story which portrays how Kiranjit Aluwalia in Southall suffered from domestic violence from her husband.
Counterculture: a subculture that rejects the mainstream values of society. When Provoked was shot, in 1996, females were considered to be subordinate to males and therefore no-one fought with the views they had. However, a group named Southall Black sisters, full of females attempt to bring Aishwarya Rai’s in just sentence to publicity by doing all sorts of things.
Dutch angle: This term refers to a type of camera shot which involves tilting the camera to create a sense of distortion. This is used in Provoked when Aishwarya Rai attempts to burn her fire to portray her immorality.
Liberal feminism: Feminism is defiantly a key theme in Provoked, and feminists such as Southall Black sisters help bring Aishwarirya Rai’s case to light.
Method acting- Konstantin Stanislavsky: Aishwarya Rai merges herself psychologically into the character she is representing, for example Kiranjit Aluwalia to match the emotions of the character to create a film that is high in validity.
Video nasty: This refers to a video with a high level of violence and sexual violence as its principal content. Although this is not the primary theme in provoked, it is integrated within the movie as it progresses.
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