PROVOKED

“PROVOKED” is a definite must watch, if anything else because Aishwarya Rai is the epitome of beauty with such powerful acting skills. Even if you watch this movie for that reason, you will be able to bring home with you some very important lessons and insights on domestic violence, at the end of the movie.

Provoked to me shows the multifaceted universal face of domestic violence. Wherever it rears its head, it would be the same ugly face, the elements which separates one case from the other would merely be the cast, circumstances and the scene.

The infliction, the remorse, the apology, the special treatments afterwards and the whole process rotates like a viscious circle, grinding the victim deeper and deeper into depression; to a point where she will be immobilised into a state of helplessness.

Domestic violence has this uncanny capacity of making the victim feel absolutely trapped in an invisible cage, completely incapable of escape. It would take mammoth strength to outsmart this mental cage.

If this grinding goes on long enough, the victim will eventually snap. This “snapping” would manifest itself in various ways. As in the film “provoked”, In Kiranjit’s case it manifested itself in the form of her dousing her husband’s feet with gasoline and setting it on fire, while he was asleep. For others it may be in the form of taking an overdose of some pill or the other. In the case of the latter, the victim may feel that her existence is worthless and the children, if any ,would be better off with the spouse, because that would have been grilled into her mind over and over again throughout the years of abuse. This act is actually a silent cry for help, which in the case of our Eastern setting, where protecting the family name and honour is placed high in our life priorities, often misunderstood and frowned upon, penalised, even.

What touched me most was the scene when Kiranjit was asked how she was treated in prison and how she felt, the words which poured out from her lips, as if in a trance, was, "I feel..free..” It just goes to show the kind of torture she has been enduring and how trapped she was throughout her married life.

In prison, Kiranjit managed to learn to speak, read and write in good English. She abandoned her kurta and traditional attire for a more modern one. She also trimmed her tresses, an act she hesitated except after persuasion from her prison mates. This shows the need for the victim to express her liberation in some drastic manner. Perhaps in the form of a completely different wardrobe, a drastic hair cut or getting involved in a special cause for her to fight. This form of emotional catharsis is an absolute must for the individual to ensure that she remain sane before she can reach an equilibrium again.

Perhaps this story could help us understand better our friends who have gone through the same pain. Instead of berating her or castigating her into isolation, be there for her, because after hiding so much for so long, crying out for help would be a new skill she would need to acquire. And unless we want her to be a lone sheep which will fall prey to the hungry wolves out there, we should try our best to show that we care.

Here is a link to an interview with the real Kiranjit Ahluwahlia.

http://www.stophonourkillings.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1490