By now, even the Grey Lady knows about Provoked, the new Jag Mundhra biopic starring TMBWITW as Kiranjit Ahluwalia and Naveen Andrews as her abusive husband. The actual story behind the movie is a horrific one:

Ahluwalia arrived in Britain in 1979 from India, aged 24, following an arranged marriage… Deepak immediately began to abuse her. ” … He would push me about, yank my hair, hit me and drop heavy pans on my feet…” Deepak also raped her frequently, telling her that this was his right.

[After 10 years, in 1989] One night, when she had gone to sleep after cooking Deepak’s dinner, he woke her up and demanded money. When she refused, he tried to break her ankles by twisting them. He then picked up a hot iron and held it to her face. Eventually Deepak fell asleep and Ahluwalia was consumed with the rage she had suppressed for 10 years. Approaching him with a can of petrol, she poured it over Deepak’s feet and set them alight… [Link]

Originally convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, her case was taken up by the Asian advocacy group Southall Black Sisters (SBS) who found her new counsel and sought a retrial.

Following a campaign, led by SBS, Ahluwalia’s conviction was quashed on appeal in 1992. The court accepted some new evidence … [and] Ahluwalia admitted manslaughter at the retrial…

Ahluwalia’s successful appeal against her murder conviction set a historic precedent – that women who kill as a result of severe domestic violence should not be treated as cold-blooded murderers. As Ahluwalia says, “I never intended to kill him, I just wanted him to stop hurting me…” [Link]

Ahluwalia became a cause celebre, a household name who was later honored in an unusual ceremony that included both Cherie Blair and Spice Girl Mel B.

As usual with biopics, there is some controversy over the liberties taken in the process of making the movie. The director is entirely unapologetic:

The director ‘Jag’ Jagmohan Mundhra in his defence said “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…” [Link]

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Once upon a time Indian cinema could rest secure in the loyalty of its large domestic base. Even if Indian audiences didn’t always like local movies, they were unlikely to defect to American (or other foreign) movies. However, this is all changing, as Hollywood sets its sights on the domestic Indian movie market:

… only a few years ago, Hollywood films warranted only about 100 prints, and if there were dubbed versions, they were often released after the English-language version finished its run. The tactic made most Indian moviegoers feel like second-class citizens …

The turning point, experts say, was last year, when some 400 prints of the James Bond film “Casino Royale” were released in India – including three versions in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu – simultaneously with the global debut. [Link]

In 2005, foreign films had only around 5% of the $1 billion dollars in theater tickets sold in India each year. However, Hollywood profits are now growing at 35% per year as they aggressively roll out dubbed movies as part of a global release. Despite Bollywood’s size (more people buy tickets to Bollywood films than Hollywood ones, world wide), it doesn’t have Hollywood’s deep pockets:

Movie tickets in many part of India cost $1, meaning Bollywood’s global revenues are about 2 percent of Hollywood’s, says Mr. Bose. “Hollywood can spend 8 percent of its normal marketing budget for a film and get the same amount of exposure as a top Hindi film,” says Sanjay Ram of BusinessofCinema.com in Mumbai.

The most lavish Bollywood films rarely cost more than $10 million. “Spider-Man 3” is thought to have cost $260 million. [Link]

The new release of Spiderman3 has local moguls scared:

The film opened to Rs 19.17 crore on it’s opening weekend in India, making it a likely contender for the highest earning film of 2007 — Indian or otherwise. [Link]

“Spider-Man 3” has already been blamed for taking the momentum from one of the few major Hindi releases this year, “Ta Ra Rum Pum” (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”). [Link]

Sequels to “Shrek”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Harry Potter” are all also due out later this summer. Continue reading →