Aish: Proud of her 'Provoked' character
by: Paromita Chakrabarti
- apunkachoice.com
The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai plays the role of a physically and sexually abused battered wife in her forthcoming film titled Provoked. And Ash says she is proud of her role.
Taking to an entertainment website, Ash said, "Domestic violence is a big slur on our society. So, I took no time in accepting the 'Provoked' offer. I hadn't played the role of a female character who had undergone such a brutal physical as well as sexual torture."
'Provoked' is based on the real life story of a woman NRI Kiran Ahluwalia who showed exemplary courage after suffering physical, mental and sexual torture for ten long years.
Then, she thought of making her husband Deepak realize at least for once the suffering she has been passing through. She planned to burn the feet of her husband so that the latter is unable to run after her and thus torture her.
She tried to put fire to his bed while he was asleep at night. Since Deepak got up, Kiran threw the burning matchstick on Deepak's bed. This injured Deepak seriously and he died after ten days of hospitalization.
Kiran was arrested for murdering her husband. The court ordered life imprisonment for her, ignoring the husband's torture of Kiran for ten years.
An NGO working among South Asian women named South hall Black Sisters, appealed to the court for revision of the order. The court reduced her sentence to three years and three months. Kiran was released from the prison on September 25th, 1992.
Meanwhile, the NGO had held meetings, rallies and dharnas to appraise the society about Kiran's torture by her husband.
So, Kiran's became a household name. Kiran got inspired to write her autobiography under the title of Circle of Light. Director Jagmohan Mundhra was impressed with Kiran's courageous story and decided to make a film on her life. He has therefore based his 'Provoked' on Kiran's story.
Since the media had kept her story alive, Kiran thanked the media after she was freed from the prison and said, "I feel free now." Mundhra says that this remark of Kiran shook him completely and he decided to sign Ash for playing Kiran's character in the movie.
Mundhra says that there are many parts of Kiran's life. In the first part, a Punjabi girl in Kiran begins her life with a lot of golden dreams, but her love meets with betrayal from her partner.
The second part is significant. Kiran meets with a woman prisoner. Both talk to each other though they belong to two different cultures and languages. The British prisoner helps Kiran in turning courageous.
Thus, Kiran begins her life afresh following her release from the prison. While Kiran's 21-year-old son wishes to see a movie made on her mother's life, her younger son aged 19 isn't familiar about Kiran's earlier torturous life. However, the Southall Black Sisters is thrilled to know about the film in the making.
Ash is happy to play Kiran. After shooting of the film was over, Ash met with Kiran, and says, "I couldn't help embrace her as Kiran is indeed a living example of courage before us. I saluted to her for her courage."
