Provoked: A True Story Review
By David Levine
Weak
The beautiful Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai plays the victim of years of spousal abuse in Provoked: A True Story, based on a monumental U.K. court case that forever changed British laws on domestic violence. Even before watching a frame of the film, we glean that this is an important human story with major moral messages to be told. It's the kind of material that easily wins the hearts of audiences and Oscar voters alike. And yet, for all of its surface significance, the resulting on-screen effort feels largely meaningless and inconsequential.
While studying to become a lawyer, a young, traditionally minded Punjabi woman named Kiranjit (Rai) gets set up in an arranged marriage to Deepak Ahluwalia (Naveen Andrews). Deepak insists Kiranjit abandon her educational efforts so they can relocate to London. Staying true to cultural norms, Kiranjit willingly accommodates her husband's desires. Once in the big metropolis, things quickly change. Kiranjit becomes pregnant and Deepak devolves into a life of drinking, adultery, and spousal abuse.
Continue reading: Provoked: A True Story Review
![Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]](https://images.contactmusic.com/images/home/homepage/luke-de-sciscio-abof-a.jpg "Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]")
