Provoked

I went to watch Provoked today. One of the best movies I have ever watched. So emotional and moving. Made me feel so angry but then so happy cos she was free from the abuse. The issue of domestic violence is universal. Yet it is not so frequently talked about in cinema. ‘Provoked’ tells one such true story of a Punjabi woman named who left Inida to marry a London-based guy, only to be badly abused for 10 whole years. She ends up in prison for murdering her abusive husband. But she finally feels free.

‘Provoked’ is based on the book ‘Circle Of Light’ by Rahila Gupta and Kiranjit Ahluwalia. On paper, the story of ‘Provoked’ is deeply disturbing and it ends on a hopeful note. Alas, the impact doesn’t really come through in the film because of its somewhat amateurish screenplay by Paul Austin and Rahila Gupta. And director Jagmohan Mundhra seems more concerned with chronicling the tale of Kiranjit rather than going into the mindsets of the story’s characters. Also, the movie sort of tries to justify Kiranjit’s extreme action (killing her husband) rather than suggesting that it is better to walk out of such failed marriages.

Aishwarya Rai rises above the poorly conceived screenplay and infuses life into the movie with her very convincing portrayal of Kiranjit. Ash’s eyes are highly expressive in many scenes and her dialogue delivery in Punjabi is absolutely credible. On the whole, ‘Provoked’ is a film made with good intentions but not good enough sensitivity. The movie does work in patches, but it fails to leave the hard-hitting impact that it should have to justify its incredibly important subject.

[sourced from ApunKaChoice.com]