Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is to star in a new British film based on the true story of a woman who was jailed for killing her violent husband.
Provoked is based on the autobiography of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a victim of domestic abuse, who was convicted of the murder of husband Deepak in 1989.

Her case was taken up by the pressure group Southall Black Sisters, and in 1992 the sentence was quashed.

Harry Potter actors Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson will co-star.

"It's amazing how so many people relate to the story," said producer Sunanda Murali at the Cannes Film Festival.

"It's satisfying to be involved in a project like this that has so much value."

Former Miss World Rai, 31, is a huge star in her native India. Last year she appeared in the British romantic comedy Bride and Prejudice.

Indian actress Nandita Das will play an activist, while Naveen Andrews will play Rai's husband.

Kiranjit Ahluwalia was sentenced to life imprisonment after dousing her husband in petrol and setting him alight.

She later received an award from Cherie Blair for her courage.

The screenplay for the film is based on her autobiography, Circle of Light.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainmen ... 543171.stm

Ali

I think we are talking about the same soft porn king Mundra's venture with his next queen!

DVD coming from Eros - taken from the promos on the Salaam-E-Ishq DVD;













Ali

rehman gave music btw

There was a documentary on the BBC a few months ago following Jagmohan Mundhra's various film shootings in Britain and this featured among the clips. From the behind-the-scenes footage I saw of the film, it looked absolutely awful - like a bad episode of EastEnders, but with more swearing.

First Look: Mallika Sherawat, Hollywood star


It's not another Myth.

Mallika Sherawat has signed herself a full-fledged Hollywood feature. Unveiled -- directed by Bill Bannerman and to be shot this fall -- casts her in the main lead.

"She's the star," nods Bannerman, longtime assistant to Clint Eastwood and producer to films like Grudge 2 and Walking Tall. Visiting India for the first time with steady collaborator and executive producer John Lind, the filmmaker is surprised at the attention Mallika commands. "She's just so sensational. There's this great buzz about her, and she's a very talented actress," he says.

At a Mumbai press event on Saturday, March 10, to announce Unveiled, Mallika looked striking in a scarlet dress, and was poised enough to have the press eating out of her hands. Rarely disposed to interviews, the actress spoke at length about Hollywood's increasing acceptance of multicultural cinema, and her preparations for the demanding role.

She was also charitable to her bit-role in The Myth, saying, "A Jackie Chan film will always be a Jackie Chan film. Just like even with Halle Berry, a Bond film is a Bond film."

Bannerman described Unveiled as a neo-noir thriller, and used the word 'provocative' much to the liking of the media.

Ms Sherawat, meanwhile, preferred to downplay the potential steaminess to talk about the character instead, describing it as a role any actress would love to play. Lind confirmed that there has been interest shown by prominent actresses for the part, the central protagonist being a Muslim woman who has to undergo quite a metamorphosis.

Bannerman -- citing Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Brian De Palma as his noir influences -- spoke of disguise and double identity, as the story moved from the Middle East to the US. "The central character finds herself in an extraordinary situation, as she takes on another identity. And then things, already complicated, get really out of control," he says.

From all accounts, the role is apparently very demanding."But she floored us at the auditions," said Lind, conforming that the massive media attention generated by Mallika's Cannes photocalls led to her getting noticed. "She's not just a fantastic looking actress, but she knows her work, works very hard, and has an amazing knowledge of cinema. She's a complete film buff."

Disagreeing with the suggestion that the film might be a Hollywood 'popcorn' thriller, Lind said, "It's a very nuanced script, I'd even personally describe it as more of a Sophie's Choice."

Bannerman confirms this, giving the film an onion analogy to talk about its layers. And he smiles when talking about the role, admitting that while it's an emotionally complex character, Mallika will also play a femme fatale. So just how racy are we talking here? "Well, considering she has two husbands and a lover," Mallika laughs and trails off abruptly, stopping short because she's just let a shoe drop.

And, in keeping with her image, a most quotable shoe.

Text: Raja Sen | Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar

I wish well for the Malika starrer but Bill Bannerman is no heavy weight in Hollywood. Imdb lists only Assistant Director, Helping Hand etc in Bill Bannerman's credentials.

well worth MS

It looked to me like a Lifetime movie.

(Lifetime is a cable channel in the US geared towards women)

Yes, I'm expecting it to be truly awful. You must be referring to the film Private Moments. Did you know he even went to Cannes with that trash! Jag Mundhra is a terrible director whose background is making low-budget soft porn films. He tried to make one serious film - Bawandar which I found to be very weak considering it's hard subject matter, though Nandita Das tried I found the film very disappointing.

Yep, I think Private Moments was among the clips too. How does he manage to rope in the likes of Nandita Das, Rahman, Robbie Coltrane and Aish? By the sounds of it, surely they can all do better.

Well I think he's a good talker. I few years ago he was talking on an Asian TV station about his film Monsoon and how he thinks it's a great piece of art the world should see. I saw the film and think that it's 90 mins of my life wasted that I'd never have back. I really don't understand how he can see greatness in the crap he produces.
I don't understand why those actors decided to work with him, I think they are not familiar with his previous films apart from Nandita Das who always tries to go for challenging non-bollywood roles. She was in Bawander, which I've already said was a weak film but strong subject matter. The reason these actors decided to make the film is because of the subject matter, it sounds good. I'm glad the Italian actress Monica Bellucci turned down his offer to play Sonia Gandhi.

Watched this last year at the IIFA premiers in dubai.. I didnt think this was a very good movie.. average at the best.. only good thing about it was seeing the eastenders cast in it...

What's changed since you first viewed it?

Ali