Provoked: A True Story

Plot synopsis:
Kiranjit Ahluwalia (Aishwarya Rai), a Punjabi woman, marries Deepak Ahluwalia (Naveen Andrews) in an arranged marriage and moves to Southall, UK with him to be closer to his family. Initially he seems caring and affectionate towards her but soon enough the true colors of her husband begin to show as Deepak gradually reveals a darker, threatening, and even sociopathic side of himself. After enduring ten years of abuse and having two children with him, Kiranjit, unable to bear the brutality and repeated rapes at the hands of her husband any longer, sets fire to his feet while he is sleeping, unintentionally killing him. Charged with murder, her case comes to the notice of a group of South Asian social workers running an under funded organization called the Southall Black Sisters.
Kiranjit is sentenced to life imprisonment with possibility of parole in 12 years. She befriends her cellmate, a White woman named Veronica Scott (Miranda Richardson), who teaches her English. Veronica is also friends with several girls in the prison and stands up for Kiranjit against the local prison bully, Doreen(Lorraine Bruce). Veronica enlists her brother, Edward Foster (Robbie Coltrane), a highly respected Queen's Counsel, to aide in Kiranjit's appeal. Edward, in turn, realizes Kiranjit's importance to his sister and the importance of her case. His sister's request has additional meaning given that Veronica would not let him help her with her own appeal due to their on off relationship since childhood.
Before Kiranjit's appeal hearing the Southall Black Sisters bring her plight to the attention of the media by organizing rallies to gather public support for her freedom. She is ultimately freed by the judicial system in a landmark case called R v Ahluwalia, redefining provocation in cases of battered women in the UK.

Tags: murder

Review:
There were two reasons why I had decided to catch this film, and they are the beautiful Aishwarya Rai and composer extraordinaire A.
Provoked is based on the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, whose autobiographical book "Circle of Light" forms the basis of this movie.
However, its textbook delivery style resulted in a film that's quite plain, despite its powerful potential in examining domestic violence against women.Rai plays the protagonist Kiranjit, a Punjabi woman instructed by culture and social norms to be the dutiful wife to Deepak Ahluwalia (Naveen Andrews), who whisks her off to London.
Kiranjit doesn't know what she's in for as it's an arranged marriage, and soon enough the true colours of her spouse start to show - the drinking, the womanizing, and the verbal, physical, emotional abuses.
Along one path, iIt's like Prison on Fire, where glimpses of the harsh realities of the world inside with criminals start to harden Kiranjit to fend for herself, along with the making of new friends and "sisters".
I'm gonna be biased here to say that Aishwarya Rai's performance is probably the best thing in the movie.
As an abused woman, you can't help but feel sorry for her, and very much root for her to get herself out of her plight, using whatever means possible.
Naveen Andrews as the husband Deepak only managed to look snarling, but is never menacing enough, and the rest seemed to have been sleepwalking, in part being let down by the lack of meat in these roles, being in true one dimensional fashion.
Only Miranda Richardson's fellow jailbird and cellmate Veronica Scott offered some balance in the acting department opposite Rai.Veteran director Jag Muhdhra seemed to have a bad outing trying to polish the film into the gem it should be, and certain scenes were badly edited that they seemed to be pasted side by side without much thought to gel them together smoothly.
Rahman's score seemed to have disappeared into the background at times, though when it's on, you can always ensure a treat for the ears.Perhaps that's the point, of enticing the audience to pick up the book to read first hand the plight of someone being abused, and the challenges faced in being a mother from within a cell, battling innate customs and expectations to come out from within a shell and into the open, not only to try and save oneself, but to be a beacon of hope for many others in the same boat.Straight to the point, no frills storytelling, recommended for the curious and for those who want a launching point into a hot subject of abusive relationships..
The movie is based on a true story which was the first reason i saw this film.
Aishwarya Rai has performed well in the role of Kiran.
The story educates one of the atrocities that can happen to a woman and her fight to claim the justice that is initially denied to her cause she was ashamed to discuss the abuse that she suffered.The movie looks like a low budget movie and the screenplay or the camera-work may not fascinate you.
The movie is based on facts and stays true to its original content.
See the movie for its content and the message it wants to convey to the society..
instead of feeling sorry for kiran and considering her actions revoulutionary i walked out thinking that this movie was promoting murder over telling someone e.g. police.
i walked out considering kiran a weak woman when she probably wasn't in reality.
the personality of that scene should have been carried through the entire movie...but it wasn't.
What I found most compelling about this movie is the way in which the core subject matter of the husband abusing his wife was revealed to the audience.
It didn't focus entirely on the actual act of abuse which is something the movie could've easily gone in the direction of.
I must also mention that Aishwarya Rai has portrayed this role earnestly and might perhaps be the peacock feather in her acting career.
The movie was controlled realism, in it that it portrayed the story realistically but didn't go into the gory details, which I believe isn't necessary at all..
The film has been superbly directed and the role of Kiranjeet Ahluwalia has been just perfectly played by Aishwarya.
After reading about the story of Kiranjeet one will be able to understand how well the film has been set up.
kudos to Aishwarya and the director of the movie..
Movie is good/bad It does not matter..it matters how you view it with facts..
The first thing I noticed about the main review made by a person (with subject Awful propaganda, awfully done with an awful message) made on this movie is by mentioning that this is based on a real story and the woman should have done in a different way by calling police or leaving her husband.
I can see the person is ignorant of how Indian women treat these kind of issues.
I understand that fact that movie is bad in narrating the story as it could not briefly depict the situation of that Indian woman.
It really gets into you when you see the situation in real, I believe she did the mistake too, but most of the times, Indian women consider its their own mistake and be quiet about it.
And I say its not always true for all Indian women, some are more educated and feel confident enough to find a solution to the problem and drag it onto the court.
It's that bad.The (they claim it's all true) story of an Asian woman in Britain who set her husband on fire because he treated her badly.
She eventually becomes a cause celebre because of the incident.The movie itself is full of melodrama, from over acting to cheesy music, tear-jerking scenes of women bonding in prison, it's a real soap opera.
There isn't anything original here, this was all done during the 80's with the "burning bed" movie.
This film would have you believe that it's not only OK to set him on fire, it's your moral obligation and you will be a heroine to women everywhere if you do so.Even if you think it's a good idea to initiate spontaneous combustion of your spouse, and I grant that there may be some who could benefit from that, this movie isn't realistic at all.
I'm not reaching for realism in my entertainment, but when you claim it's a true story - try for some truth.
? Well the script is poor, the characters one-dimensional, the music is dreadful, and the directing and acting simply abysmal.
In fact, possibly the worst acting I've ever seen in a movie, and I've seen a lot of movies.I get the feeling the makers of this film were on a crusade, and let pursuance of that goal completely overshadow the actual film-making process.So bad is the script and acting that I found myself unable to sympathize at all with the 'victim' of abuse, who comes across as arrogant, snobbish and immature.
Hence any sympathy for the cause of battered women has been tainted.At best it might be called 'cheesy' and there is a hint of Bollywood about it, but frankly to entrust an important story to this bunch of amateurs was a huge mistake.
Since it was based on a true story (I remember the case in the media) I really thought that the movie would have been really great.
Maybe it was the direction of the movie but I did not get the severity of the attacks by the husband to warrant the wife's actions.
I'm not really familiar with Aishwarya Rai's work but we've all seen Naveen Andrews in Lost and other works and I know that he is a good actor but I don't think his talents were utilized well.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised how good both Ms. Rai and the film were.
An intelligent entertaining (that might be the incorrect word in view of the subject matter) issue film that doesn't patronise its audience.
This is easily Aishwarya Rai best Western/English Language film to date and could mark the start of an interesting phase in her career.
Cast, to my mind against type, she plays Kiranjit Ahluwalia a battered Housewife who after years of Physical, Mental & Sexual abuse kills her husband by setting fire to him while he sleeps.
Kiranjit would later be jailed for life for murder and then successfully appeal the decision and in doing so change English Criminal Law.I must say that Aishwarya really did show there's more to her than her looks.
Especially, when you ask yourself who would you get to play an Indian Battered wife, I'm sure like me you wouldn't have cast Ms. Rai in a Million years, based on seeing "Mistress of Spices" & "Bride and Prejudice" respectively.Aishwarya gives a really good performance, she managing to convey the fact that she (Kiranjit) is supposed to be a good wife & mother so if her husband abuses her if must be her fault.
But Ms. Rai is really at her best when she has killed her husband and is in something of a daze with the whole enormity of the situation.
She really manages to have you believing this is how the real Kiranjit acted.
This movie based on true story grips you from the very beginning and though there are enough light moments even in Jail, it just doesn't let go anytime....
By now, everyone knows the story is that of a woman stuck in an abusive marriage finds her freedom in jail after killing her husband...
Every technical aspect of the movie- editing, camera, sound, music- is real class...
Ash of course lives the role and each and every frame she is a delight to watch...very expressive face and eyes used wonderfully- thanks to the director too I suppose...Nandita Das doesn't act too smart., Mirinda Richardson, both the lawyers are all excellent in their roles...even side stories in prison are very well done indeed...
Please ignore all the naysayers who have been detracting about her accent in the film, her character learnt English from a British woman, how else do you expect her to speak?
I mean, come on people!In a nutshell (most people who went to see this already knew the story) Provoked is the journey of an emotionally, psychologically and physically battered woman from the depths of despair to the glory and grace of emancipation.
Rai plays Kiranjit Ahluwalia, the virginal Punjabi mail-order-bride brought to London to wed Deepak Ahluwalia(played intensely well by the up-to-par Naveen Andrews).
Truly despicable!The film itself begins with that very headlining scene I'm sure everybody shuddered to even conceive of when they first heard about the Kiranjit saga.
Provoked is very psychological, when we first meet Kiranjit, she is a woman of very little words, so the audience has to do the extra work of reading meaning into her gestures, expressions and angst.
Personally, I started crying five minutes into Provoked, and didn't stop until the very last words were spoken by Kiranjit at the end of the film.
It's bawdy, it's brilliant, it's gritty, it's raw, it's realistic and most importantly it DOES NOT glamorize the story it is telling.A series of catastrophic events(stemming from corrupt police officials, lazy barristers, evil mother-in-law and shady witnesses just to mention a few) eventually land Kiranjit in jail and it is there, in this new kind of hell that she truly is liberated.
Rai plays Kiranjit to the pulp delicately enough as not to batter her.
In the beginning, she barely spoke a word of English, so much so that in the flashback scenes whenever her husband spoke to her in English, she would always revert to speaking Punjabi in response.
But in jail, she meets Veronica Scott(Played by the spectacular Miranda Richardson), her cell mate who becomes one of the best-friends and sort of a guardian angel who helps her find herself and achieve so much as an independent woman.
I think the writer of this review missed the point.Don't believe this was a male-bashing story at all, or one which says it's OK to oxidize your "better" half.One of the last lines in the movie, and I quote: "Ofcourse, there never was a retrial.
She lost her reason after 10 years of rape, abuse- physical and emotional - and snapped one night.As to whether her action was "justified" - will again quote from the movie: "For a woman who suffered violence and abuse of the highest order for 10 long years and feared not only for her own life, but the life of her little children - I myself could not, would not presume to know what reasonable would be for such a woman".The real issue here is that some men need to learn to treat women with honor.
Though I will grant there were some real cheesy moments of women-to-women bonding in the prison - don't know how much of that is real.I am a punjabi male and found this movie perfectly fine - there is no negative bias against men - unless of course, you're one of those men who think it's a good idea to iron your spouse just for the kicks.
Watch it for Ash. They say that a film on a social issue ought to be more hard-hitting.
Well said.Agreed, Provoked has a few shortcomings here and there, but you walk out of the hall with one character leaving a lasting impression in your mind - Kiran, played by Ash. This is undoubtedly the best performance of the beautiful Aishwarya Rai in her career so far.
Miranda Richardson who plays Kiran's cell mate is also awesome.Don't expect a movie that'll start a revolution, or light a spark.
I have read a lot of reviews where all people have talked about is what Aishwarya Rai did in the movie.
If I was Naveen Andrews I would have been kicking myself for doing this movie.
He is way too talented and looked like doing a favour to the makers by accepting the role.The story had all the ingredients of becoming an earth shattering revolutionary drama.
The film attempts to exploit the naiveness of Occidental audience about the subject to shake down some emotion.
We are emotionally blackmailed by words like "true story" more and more in recent times.
However PROVOKED fails to bring up standards of Indian Diaspora Cinema neither it is bollywood nor Hollywood.Slickness of production can not replace the story or soul of a film.
It is real pity -the film needed a great scriptwriter & great director.
It is high time Aishwarya Rai finds a soul-mate in some great filmmaker because she is talented and beautiful.I would avoid spending any bucks on this movie...
It shows the system as too biased towards women and sends a very clear message that sympathy & tears can work wonders.My personal rating would have been -1 or 0, had there been an option.Not worth your time, money and effort..
It was quite a revelation for me, having only seen Aishwarya Rai as a martial arts wizard in "The Lost Legion", to see her submissive downtrodden performance in this film.
Kiranjit is increasingly mistreated by her husband, whose own failings drive him ever more to drink and other women, using money that should be paying to put food on the plates of his wife and children.
It would've helped to have shown that the real Kiranjit had tried fleeing the home, but had been dragged back and severely beaten.
The religious and humble Kiranjit doesn't command English well enough to defend herself and the legal system conspires to ensure that a woman who sets her husband alight goes down for life.
It is only in prison, inspired and assisted by the marvelous Miranda Richardson character, that Kiranjit learns English, human rights and to stand up for herself - who knew that a prison could be so inspiring (as reform seems to have been abandoned long ago for simple containment)?
Was this a Bollywood story in English?
This story is about a woman who gets beat up by her husband, and kills him for that.
She goes into prison.This should be a true story, but is not believable because of the worse acting and appearance of Aishwaria.
And the dutch subtitles in Bollywood movies are very bad.
I think they are translated by a computer or something.Every time when Aishwaria Rai is saying; "I'm sorry", the subtitles say; "I'm sad".
The way the movie is made makes women who watch the movie wonder to kill her husbands when they hit them even once.Or when a husband shouts at his wife once, he should hide all candles and matches, otherwise he gets burnt.
She is only pretty like the horrible actress Priyanka Chopra.In Bollywood there is one major thing; if you know the right people in your family, then you will become famous in movies.
Movies like these do great disservice to the DV awareness and cause..
I don't know the real story so my comments are based entirely on what was shown in the movie.
In the movie Deepak is shown as a caring husband one moment and a violent abuser the next.
No time or effort is spend in the movie to show the transformation from one to another.
Why did she not leave her husband while all of the abuse was happening?
It is easy to sympathize with the character because she is played wonderfully by Ash, but I would sympathize with her if she acts with the ultra-vulnerable innocent puppy look like she does in the movie even if she kills the pope.
Melodrama should have no place in movie dealing with a delicate topic like this one.
Other than Ash, this movie is not even worthy of one look...