Post by daboss on May 24, 2006 21:14:17 GMT
Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai's next British film has already started attracting controversy before a general release here, after it was branded "one-dimensional" and not reflecting reality.
Titled Provoked, the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival this week to generate interest among distributors. It is based on the book Circle of Light, an autobiography by Kiranjit Alhuwalia.
The latter, to be played by Rai, doused her husband Deepak in petrol and set him alight as retaliation for attacking her with a hot iron and undergoing years of domestic abuse, in 1989.
She became a cause célèbre in 1992 when the courts accepted a plea by her and the group Southall Black Sisters - who helped her with a sustained campaign - that the sentence be reduced to manslaughter on grounds of 'provocation'.
The decision to take into account provocation in such domestic abuse cases made legal history.
But Southall Black Sisters have now criticised the film for being riddled with "factual and legal inaccuracies". Two members from the group: Pragna Patel and Rahila Gupta, said it took "a lot of artistic license".
After seeing the film Ms Patel told the Observer newspaper yesterday: "I cringe a bit because I was so closely involved. Sometimes I think people should rise to the challenge of reflecting real life better. My view is that the reality is far more interesting."
Rahila Gupta, who co-wrote Circle of Light, added: "It's a shame that film is an artistic form in which you have to make a fair amount of compromises to make it happen." She also criticised the film's characterisation as "one-dimensional", and the portrayal of Kiranjit Ahluwalia's husband as an alcoholic.
They also complain:
That Kiranjit Ahluwalia plays a middle-class housewife instead of a factory worker, as she was in real life.
That Pragna Patel and Rahila Gupta's characters have been merged to create one person, played by the Indian actress Nandita Das
That the film uses Americanised legal terminology
The director Jagmohan Mundhra defended himself by saying: "Even if you tell a true story, a true story is never really a true story. How do you define the truth? None of us were really there and obviously the recollections of people who were there have changed now. Ultimately I do have to tell an engaging story. If I can't tell an engaging story no matter what cause is at stake, nobody will see it."
Although he possesses a long filmography, in India Mr Mundhra is frequently referred to as "soft-porn king", on account of his earlier films. Provoked has partly been funded by the UK Film Council.
The film stars Naveen Andrews (Lost) as her husband, Miranda Richardson and Robbie Coltrane. It is expected to be released here in August.
Titled Provoked, the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival this week to generate interest among distributors. It is based on the book Circle of Light, an autobiography by Kiranjit Alhuwalia.
The latter, to be played by Rai, doused her husband Deepak in petrol and set him alight as retaliation for attacking her with a hot iron and undergoing years of domestic abuse, in 1989.
She became a cause célèbre in 1992 when the courts accepted a plea by her and the group Southall Black Sisters - who helped her with a sustained campaign - that the sentence be reduced to manslaughter on grounds of 'provocation'.
The decision to take into account provocation in such domestic abuse cases made legal history.
But Southall Black Sisters have now criticised the film for being riddled with "factual and legal inaccuracies". Two members from the group: Pragna Patel and Rahila Gupta, said it took "a lot of artistic license".
After seeing the film Ms Patel told the Observer newspaper yesterday: "I cringe a bit because I was so closely involved. Sometimes I think people should rise to the challenge of reflecting real life better. My view is that the reality is far more interesting."
Rahila Gupta, who co-wrote Circle of Light, added: "It's a shame that film is an artistic form in which you have to make a fair amount of compromises to make it happen." She also criticised the film's characterisation as "one-dimensional", and the portrayal of Kiranjit Ahluwalia's husband as an alcoholic.
They also complain:
That Kiranjit Ahluwalia plays a middle-class housewife instead of a factory worker, as she was in real life.
That Pragna Patel and Rahila Gupta's characters have been merged to create one person, played by the Indian actress Nandita Das
That the film uses Americanised legal terminology
The director Jagmohan Mundhra defended himself by saying: "Even if you tell a true story, a true story is never really a true story. How do you define the truth? None of us were really there and obviously the recollections of people who were there have changed now. Ultimately I do have to tell an engaging story. If I can't tell an engaging story no matter what cause is at stake, nobody will see it."
Although he possesses a long filmography, in India Mr Mundhra is frequently referred to as "soft-porn king", on account of his earlier films. Provoked has partly been funded by the UK Film Council.
The film stars Naveen Andrews (Lost) as her husband, Miranda Richardson and Robbie Coltrane. It is expected to be released here in August.
