Raji James Movies
- 2007
Inspired by the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, Jag Mundhra's Provoked tells the tale of a battered wife pushed to the ultimate act of defiance. As a nineteen year old girl living in a small Punjab village with her overbearing sisters and their husbands, Kiranjit Ahluwalia (Aishwarya Rai) aspired to get a college education and see the world. Despite her ambitious plans, however, Kiranjit put her entire future on hold the moment she met handsome family friend Deepak (Naveen Andrews). Later, after a whirlwind romance, Kiranjit and Deepak married and prepared to move into Deepak's home in a quaint suburb of London. Kiranjit's storybook romance would quickly give way to a terrifying reality however when, over the course of the following decade, the loving bride suffered a relentless torrent of emotional and physical abuse of her tyrannical husband. Eventually pushed to her breaking point and desperately fearing for the safety of her children, Kiranjit killed Deepak and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. Though Kiranjit was at first reluctant to share the details of her harrowing experience, she eventually became convinced that the only way to break the cycle of violence was to share her story with the world. Miranda Richardson, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Robbie Coltrane co-star in a docudrama that encourages viewers to take a closer look at the proliferation of domestic violence. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aishwarya Rai, Miranda Richardson, (more)
A woman comes to terms with her sexuality while trying to save the family business in this flavorful romantic comedy. Nina Shah (Shelley Conn) is the daughter of an Indian expatriate family who settled in Glasgow and run an Indian restaurant, the New Taj Mahal. While Nina was always close to her father, when he insisted she wed a man she didn't love as part of an arranged marriage, she left Glasgow and began a new life in London. However, word of her father's passing brings her back to Glasgow to look after her mother and help run the New Taj. Nina learns that the restaurant is deep in debt and needs a sharp increase in business if its to stay open; shortly before his death, father arranged for the New Taj to take part in a televised cooking competition to find the best Indian food in Glasgow, and so Nina and the restaurant's head chef Lisa (Laura Fraser) are on the spot to come up with something special. As Nina and Lisa spend many hours in the kitchen together, they begin to develop a personal relationship as spicy as anything on the menu. As Nina tries to decide how to explain her new romance to her family, she finds emotional support from her very out of the closet friend Bobbi (Ronny Jhutti) and her younger sister, who has developed a passion for Scottish folk dancing. But Nina's effort to save the New Taj may become a grudge match when she learns that her biggest competition comes from a new eatery run by Sanjay (Raji James), the man Nina refused to marry. Nina's Heavenly Delights also stars Art Malik as Sanjay's father. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Fraser, Art Malik, (more)
East is East, a fast-moving comedy drama of mixed-race manners, is set in Salford, England in 1970. It centers on the Anglo-Pakistani alliance of the Khan family that is both claustrophobically cohesive and hopelessly dysfunctional. In their over-crowded terrace house, anarchy erupts daily with farcical energy. The Khan children, caught between the traditional dogmatism of their Pakistani father (Om Puri) and laissez-faire attitude of their British mother (Linda Bassett), have a lot of difficulties to follow their dreams of becoming citizens of the modern world. Based on the award-winning stage play by Ayub Khan-Din, East is East had great success in the theatres of London before it was made into a film. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Om Puri, Linda Bassett, (more)
