Directed by: Jag Mundhra
Written by: Carl Austin, Rahila Gupta
Starring: Aishwarya Rai, Miranda Richardson, Nandita Das, Rebecca Pidgeon, Naveen Andrews
When a film wanders onto the weatherbeaten path of marital abuse, it needs something special to seperate it from the pack and arouse viewer interest. Provoked gets its special something in Aishwarya Rai, who, with her surprisingly excellent portrayal of the battered NRI wife driven to the point of murder, carries the film firmly on her shoulders.
Synopsis: The film tells the true story of Kiranjeet Ahluwalia, an NRI housewife charged with the murder of her husband Deepak, who ironically finds solace and freedom in the company of the inmates of a women’s prison where she is sent to serve her time.
My Take: Jag Mundhra, whose previous body of work is anything but impressive (read Vishkanya, Monsoon, Private Moments, Sexual Malice, and so on, with a Bawander and Kamla thrown in for good measure), seems an unlikely candidate to handle such a sensitive subject, given his propensity to peddle soft porn in most of his ventures. However, to be fair, Mundhra’s direction is adequate by industry standards (by Mundhra standards, he is phenomenal, almost stunning). The film moves at a fairly even clip, keeps the violence to a minimum, is devoid of attention-grabbing nudity, and sticks to its subject without meandering into unnecessary digressions. There are no innovative flourishes or sparks of directorial brilliance, but Mundhra is a man of limited skills and, for the first time in his career, seems to have realised this.
The screenplay does well to focus the viewer’s attention towards Kiranjeet’s liberation through her incarceration, rather than towards the fairly simple trial that gets her incarcerated in the first place. Thankfully limited flashbacks give the viewer the necessary and sufficient background information needed to understand Kiranjeet’s motivations. All other departments (editing, sound, cinematography, set design, etc.) are, like Mundhra’s direction, adequate. The opulence of the prisons in 1980s Britain is a bit hard to swallow though.
Now for the redeeming factor - The acting. The cast, a casting coup of sorts for the below-mediocre Mundhra, features an impressive line-up of actors, from Aishwarya Rai in the lead to two time Academy Award Nominee Miranda Richardson to Nandita Das to Robbie Coltrane (Best known as Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies). Together, they manage to lift an average film to ‘watchable’ status through the sheer strength of their acting. Miranda Richardson is wonderful as Kiranjeet’s worldly-wise, husband-stabbing cell mate. Same goes for Nandita Das as the idealistic social worker determined to free Kiranjeet and tells her story to the world. Naveen Andrews passes muster as the abusive husband without a conscience, though his expressions tend to become wooden often.
No such problems for Aishwarya Rai though. The actress more than redeems herself with her turn as the beleagured Kiranjeet, infusing her role with wonderful shades of vulnerability, shock, helplessness, simmering hate and ultimately, the joy of emancipation. Such is the strength of her performance that you cannot help but forgive her for her previous crimes (Read - Dhoom II, Jeans, etc.). Above everything else, if there is one thing that makes this film worth watching, it is Aishwarya Rai’s acting (Never thought I’d say that about the ‘pretty’ lady, who, by the way, does look genuinely pretty in the film).
Provoked has more than its fair share of flaws, and had it been blessed with a lesser cast, would probably have ended up in the same bottomless pit as Mundhra’s other ‘films’. However, it has heart, and that counts. The film is sincere, earnest and very well acted.
Recommended primarily for women and their hapless better (or worse) halves, and all those who hold the misplaced belief that Aishwarya Rai can’t act (I was part of this club too before I saw this film).
Useful Links: Movie Info, Wallpapers, Jag Mundhra on IMDB
