Provoked (English, 2007)

There's a fashion these days of popular mainstream Bollywood actresses acting in "meaningful" films. Provoked is Aishwarya Rai's turn to do this.

Based on the true story of Kiranjit Aluwalia (Aishwarya Rai), a victim of domestic violence, Provoked traces the events starting from Kiranjit not being able to tolerate it any longer and trying to burn her husband and take us through her struggle - first with herself to realise that she is a victim, not a criminal; and then with the British judicial system to have them realise what "provoked" means in context of domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a very serious issue. It is very appreciable that such movies are being made and are getting the appropriate limelight. Quite good acting by Aishwarya Rai and Miranda Richardson, accompanied by a good narration of a powerful true story make Provoked a reasonably good movie to watch.

If I have any complaint, its just this. For such a serious subject, the movie is not as hard hitting as you would think it to be. The perpetrators of domestic violence won't really have a "oh shit! this is me" feeling. People not feel like going out and just shooting anyone they know who inflicts domestic violence. Its a glamorised presentation of a very serious subject, and this tendency to sugar-coat serious issues with glamour to make them more palatable is not really something that I agree with.

Recommendation - A must watch, just for the issue it tackles and good performances.

Rating - ✔✔✔