MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indians, no strangers to domestic abuse, have shunned a new film inspired by the true story of a wife who murdered her abusive husband but won a court reprieve and accolades for her courage.

"Provoked" is based on the autobiography of an Indian immigrant in Britain who was jailed in 1989 for burning alive her husband, another Indian immigrant, after suffering 10 years of rape and abuse at his hands.

Director Jag Mundhra says he hoped the film would raise awareness against domestic violence in India where, U.N. figures show, more than two-thirds of married women aged 15-49 years are victims of beating, rape or forced sex.

But despite generally good reviews and featuring one of India's biggest stars, "Provoked" has bombed at the Indian box office because, film critics say, the public wants entertaining issues.

"We are basking in our economic success and the mood now is for entertainment that will reflect happiness, not reality," Indu Mirani, a leading Indian critic, told Reuters.

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