Indian actress Aishwarya Rai will star in a film about a woman jailed for killing her violent husband.

Provoked, set to start shooting in England, is based on a real story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia who had doused her husband Deepak in petrol and set him alight. She convicted of murder in 1989 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Details of the filming were announced today at the Cannes Film Festival.

Ahluwalia claimed he had subjected her to years of domestic violence and in 1992 her sentence was quashed. She later received an award from Cherie Blair for her courage.

Former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, 31, who appeared in the recent film "Bride and Prejudice", has signed up for the starring role.

Robbie Coltrane will play a barrister and Miranda Richardson will appear as a prison inmate who helped Ahluwalia during her imprisonment. Naveen Andrews will play the husband and Indian actress Nandita Das, a member of the jury at this year’s Cannes Festival, will play an activist who fought for Ahluwalia’s release.

"I play the central character to give a known face to the woman’s plight. It’s a role that requires me to go through many shades - from hurt, shock, anger to a tentative sense of vindication," said Aishwarya Rai, "The subject is very topical. And it’s actually the first time that I’m playing a real-life character." 

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