"...A R Rahman's soulful background
score..."
Provoked tells an important story
Sukanya Verma
<!--
if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("MSIE")!=-1) {
document.write ('<TABLE CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0" BORDER="0" WIDTH="780"
style="border-left:solid 1px #B7B7B7;border-right:solid 1px #B7B7B7;"
ALIGN="CENTER">');}
else
{
document.write ('<TABLE CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0" BORDER="0" WIDTH="756"
style="border-left:solid 1px #B7B7B7;border-right:solid 1px #B7B7B7;"
ALIGN="CENTER">');}
//-->
A still from Provoked
Top Emailed Features
• Mumbai swing with Shakira
• Photo: Rakhi Sawant, the tigress
• Final Harry Potter book cover
Tell us
• Ask a question
Advertisements
• Fashion Tips at FREE
• Bollywood Badshah
• Flaunt your new look
Get Movies updates:What's this?
<!--
if ((navigator.appName.indexOf("Microsoft") != -1) ||
(navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf('firefox')))
{
document.write("<IFRAME SRC=\"/uim/ads/movies-news-Middle3.htm\"
NAME=\"Middle3\" WIDTH=\"336\" HEIGHT=\"282\" MARGINWIDTH=\"0\"
MARGINHEIGHT=\"0\" FRAMEBORDER=\"0\" SCROLLING=\"no\"><\/IFRAME><br />");
}
else
{
da(336, 280, 'Middle3');
}
//-->
Advertisement
P4C_AD('Middle');
Overseas Travel Insurance.
Health insurance for travel abroad,calculate premium & buy
online now.
5Rediff P4C Classifieds
April 06, 2007 16:11 IST
When is enough really enough?
In love, never. In abuse, immediately.
Domestic
violence evokes a sense of unrestrained anger within. One's instant
reaction is, 'How dare he?' or 'Why doesn't she leave him?'
It
is too subjective to understand what makes a woman stay in a bad
marriage, or with a bad husband. Issues like incompatibility, for some
even infidelity, are negotiable. But how does one adjust to getting
beaten up by a man who has publicly promised to love and respect you in
an elaborate wedding ceremony?
Even so, scores of women
tolerate harassment at the hands of beastly husbands in order to
protect the institution's so-called honour. Some are just uncomfortable
exposing the truth, while others are too scared to even try. There are
women who actually die getting beaten up.
Provoked: A True Story compels you to think about this ugly issue prevalent in
both modern and traditional societies.
Adapted from the autobiography Circle of Light (by Rahila Gupta and Kiranjit
Ahluwalia),
it is primarily the story of Kiranjit's trauma. Though the film doesn't
give a detailed account of the psyche or conditioning of its victim and
offender, it gives you some insight of a woman's incredible tale of
abuse and acquittal.
Interview: Kiranjit, the woman behind Provoked
The
opening shot (with solid backing from A R Rahman's soulful background
score and Madhu Ambat's expressive photography) is exceptionally
dramatic. Held by an unknown figure, a candle burns and spreads its dim
light across the darkness of the living room. As it moves, the flames'
reflection falls on the wall displacing framed memories from happier
times. Oblivious to what it's about to do, the candle ascends in the
direction of its victim. It surreptitiously reaches its inebriated
victim and is let loose to make its fatal move.
The unknown
figure is now revealed. It's a nervously shaking Kiranjit (played by
Aishwarya Rai). The man going up in flames is her husband, Deepak
(Naveen Andrews, playing the bad guy so effectively you want to
strangle him).
A series of recurring flashbacks enlighten us about what really happened.
Originally
from Punjab, Kiranjit comes to England after marrying Deepak. Docile
and submissive, Kiranjit meekly puts up with the increasing atrocities
of her alcoholic other half. The vile man beats, cheats, mistreats and
abuses his wife physically, sexually and verbally.
In an
interview, the real Ahluwalia stated her husband was often nice but
suffered from a 'split personality'. In the film, this trait is never
communicated. Deepak comes across as a you-know-what of the first order
from start to finish.
In the film, the year is 1989. And
Kiranjit is put behind bars for suspected murder. The trial fails to
establish a prolonged background of domestic violence and the jury
declares her guilty. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Kiranjit gears up
for life in the cell, where she finds a protective sympathetic in her
feisty and affluent inmate, Veronica Scott (a delightful, effortlessly
endearing Miranda Richardson). Booked for stabbing her husband,
Veronica is shown to have remarkable influence in and outside prison.
Meanwhile, non-profit organisation Southall Black Sisters, headed by Radha
(Nandita Das in a spiffy, vibrant turn) takes up Kiranjit's cause, vowing to
bring her justice.
Together
these women prove to be a driving force in her life. While she brushes
up her English speaking skills, Radha and her team create an awareness
of Kiranjit's case by posting banners and flyers asking for support.
Veronica uses her contacts to help Kiranjit file an appeal. In 1992,
the judiciary system in what came to be known as the breakthrough
'Regina vs Ahluvalia' trial acquits Kiranjit.
Provoked
is an important story which definitely needs to be told. What is
disheartening is the way it is. Sure, the treatment is realistic,
production values are good, and the acting is mostly commendable -- but
the screenplay (Paul Austin, Rahila Gupta) is shockingly superficial.
The mostly English-part Punjabi drama has such a hard-hitting theme, but
director Jag Mundhra
is so preoccupied in chronicling the events, he tackles the emotional
aspect rather hurriedly. Like with the case of extracting performances.
Every time the actress is completely into her anguished character's
skin, Mundhra; instead, of letting the camera linger for just a split
second longer, jumps off to the next shot, breaking your connection
with practiced insensitivity.
Aishwarya
Rai, on her part, is sincerity personified. No make-up, pretty clothes
or even a smile adorn her naturally gorgeous disposition. But those
eyes play their part. With changing circumstances her big blue-green
brimming eyes look shocked, grieved, frightened, confused and
relieved. Her effort to speak in fluent Punjabi is truly impressive.
Then again, there are times her body language is not in sync with the
suffering of her character, something Mani Ratnam successfully got out
of the actress in Guru. It is a sensitive portrayal, even if not an assertive
one.
In
terms of violence, the sequences are not too many or too graphic.
Though there is an extended scene featuring a naked Naveen Andrews and
his smouldered butt, the beating scenes are fortunately brief,
nevertheless effective.
With a running time of 1 hour 45 minutes, Provoked
is, as one psychologist in the film puts it, 'self-justificatory.' Even
though it doesn't glorify Kiranjit's actions, it doesn't stop from
justifying it either. If only the film would stress more on what
Ahluwalia has been saying in almost every interview -- 'Never do what I
did in life. But at the same time never suffer in a bad marriage. If
you are unhappy in a marriage, get out of it.' That's what really makes
her story so heartfelt and meaningful.
In the end, you come out of the theatre feeling more about the issue rather
than the person.
