By Subhash K Jha

With the wedding around the corner, Abhishek and Aishwarya's schedules, together and apart, seem to be getting progressively clogged.

They're currently in Malaysia to attend an awards ceremony. On Monday Abhishek accompanied Aishwarya to London for the international premiere of her much-awaited film Provoked.

Says producer Dr J Murli Manohar, "Although Abhishek is not directly related to the film in any way he has kindly consented to accompany Ash to London for the premiere which we're hosting at the prestigious Empire theatre at Leicester Square."

Curiously there will be no premiere for Provoked in Mumbai. Aishwarya who had earlier gone out of her way to promote this film has obviously had no time to do so now when the film opens in four languages Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu in India.

Says Dr Manohar, "We had the film's director Jagmohan Mundhra and the real-life protagonist Kiranjit Ahluwalia on whose true-life story Provoked is based, traveling to various parts of India. Hopefully the film's theme of domestic violence would ring a bell all over the country."

Incidentally Provoked is Ms Rai's first international release since the lukewarmly received Bride & Prejudice and the disastrous Mistress Of Spices two years ago. In both Bride.... And Provoked she plays a Punjabi girl though a far unhappier one in Provoked.

Next she has another international film The Last Legion up for release while in India her only release this year would be Ahutosh Gowariker's Jodha-Akbar.

In Provoked Aishwarya made no physical preparations to play the battered wife.

"I didn't try to look like Kiranjit. There's no physical resemblance between us. But I did connect with her in less apparent ways, met up with her a number of times. Domestic violence or violence of any kind between a man and a woman is a horrific state to be in. This has been one of my most challenging roles to date," Ash said in an earlier interview to me.