Provoked

I saw this movie, Provoked : The True Story...finally, after having it on my harddisk for close to a week. The reason i wasn't too keen on watchin the movie was well...because of my previous experience with an Aishwarya Rai (err..Bacchan?) starring, english movie...The Mistress of Spices. That movie, in my eyes was merely used to showcase, Aishwarya...not even her acting skills (not that she has a lot of it..).

Therefore with much apprehension and the determination to do ANYTHING apart from studying, i fired up Provoked : The True Story. I'll make it short and sweet; this is how the movie goes:

Kiranjit Ahluwalia (Aishwarya) kills her husband Deepak Ahluwalia (Naveen Andrews...of LOST fame) while he was in bed (the medium used to take his life is petrol+candle). The reason? Unlike how the begining of the movie portrays her to be "Noorie gone mad"...Kiranjit has been at the receiving end of her husbands abusive behaviour for 10 long years. However, the cops find evidence (the can used to carry the petrol) that nails Kiranjit as the perpetrator. Oh that, and the word of her drunk husband who was asleep when he was set ablaze. Neways, inspite of her lawyer Miriam Taylor's (..the attractive Rebecca Pidgeon) "semi-best" efforts...the edivence presented at that time and Kiranjit's umm..stereotypical "Perfect Indian housewife" attitude lands her behind bars for murder. In jail, apart from the usual bullies/dopers/prostitutes/"oooo im mean" wannabes...she meets her cell mate, Veronica Ronnie (..the charming Miranda Richardson) who inspires her to well..get over her guilt, shame blah blah and kick some ass. In the mean time, Radha Dalal (the fiery Nandita Das) and her band of merry people (who call themselves The Southhall Black Sisters)..a womens rights organization try to do their part in getting Kiranjit out. After having some brains drilled into her by her inspirational cell mate, Kiranjit finally decides to appeal against her sentence (and TADAA!..Her cell mates brother happens to be a Barristor in Her Majesty's council!)..and well..sorta wins and gets out of jail. Im skipping the part where the mother-in-law testifies against her daughter-in-law in court for no apparent reason and a constable does the same...again, for no apparent reason.

Frankly, they could have definitely cast some other actress instead of Aishwarya to play the role of Kiranjit. Not that she's doing a bad job...just that she is too damn glamourous to do the role any justice. As one of the cell mates calls her..."The Indian Barbie." They probably cast her as eyecandy to drive in SOME people to watch the movie here in India. Also, they have simply WASTED Nandita Das in this movie. There are a couple of loopholes...one of them being the way in which the judge conviniently forgets how Kiranjit had been abused for 10 years before she resorted to do what she did...it wasn't one slap that instigated her. Likewise, for no reason AT ALL, the mother-in-law and the constable go cookoo in court. This apparently, is a true story...so i cant question the chain of events that actually occured. But still, it just leaves behind a void. My conclusion? It is a reasonable movie...which superficially covers the disturbing act of domestic violence with women being the victims. Could have done with a little more depth.

Bu bye,

MyTHun