Provoked: A True Story

this movie had a heap of potential...that wasn't met. the story in its self is a seller but its execution was pathetic. 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 feel this may have had o do with the fact that ash as pretty as she is isn't capable of getting in the skin of a character and making you feel with the character. i walked out considering kiran a weak woman when she probably wasn't in reality. kiran was a Punjabi girl and she was going to be a lawyer, she was obviously educated and intelligent so why portray her as so backward ?? only one scene really portrayed the kind of person kiran was (the scene before he threw her down the stairs) she told him what she felt. the personality of that scene should have been carried through the entire movie...but it wasn't. 5/10 purely for the story & the little effort

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. One might argue that showing the actual scenes might've garnered more sympathy for Kiranjit but I beg to differ. I think by showing glimpses of the violence and leaving much to the imagination the director has done well to extract genuine sympathy from his audience. I must also mention that Aishwarya Rai has portrayed this role earnestly and might perhaps be the peacock feather in her acting career. She was apt, didn't over or under act and perfectly exhibited the emotional trauma that Kiranjit might've actually been through. 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.

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. The subject matter had so much potential. 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. They also could have delved a little more into both the husband's the wife's character. 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. More could have definitely been done with this movie.

The people behind this movie are the ones who should have been set on fire. 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. It's so one sided that any Asian male who buys into it is probably sleeping out in the garage, in a locked car, after carefully hiding the gasoline can. There is no attempt at all to be objective, or to point out that setting someone on fire isn't a good solution to your marital difficulties.

The problem here is the message: it's OK to set your spouse on fire if they don't treat you well. Never mind the fact that you could just leave, or turn him in to the police, or a hundred other options. 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. Only die hard haters of the male gender could enjoy this, and possibly not all of those. If you have any objectivity at all you'll finish by hating this movie. If you enjoy decent movies, you'll finish by hating this one. And if you have any regard for the opposite gender whatsoever, you'll hate this movie.

Well when i bought the DVD and sat to see the movie I wasn't a bit aware of the fact that the movie is going to be so heart wrenching. 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. I would highly recommend the movie. Be read with your napkins as for the emotional junta this is going to be a weepy ride throughout. Nandita Das has also done justice to her role. Ironically the laws in UK are being amended for the sake of Indians and India still faces loads of such cases. All I can say about the movie is that it brought tears to my eyes and I'm not a weepy kinda person. kudos to Aishwarya and the director of the movie.