Movie Review: Article 15

Movie: ‘Article 15’
Rating: 4/5
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Cast: Ayushmann Khurranna, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Mohd Zeeshan Ayub

Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, 1950 states,  “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds ONLY of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them”.

The movie set against the backdrop of real incident of Badaun gang rape incident of 2014.begins in Lalgaun, UP where Ayan Ranjan (Ayushmann Khurrana) an IAS Office has recently been posted. The first scene of the movie showcases Ayan requesting his subordinate to purchase a bottle of water from a street vendor and him straightaway being warned that the vendor is of a lower caste and they cannot buy water from them, setting the tone for the rest of the movie to follow.

Upon Ayna’s arrival he is faced with the disappearance of three girls, two of whom they later find out had been sexually assaulted by multiple men and hanged to death by a tree. But what is far more surprising is the hesitance of the police force to take any action, merely due to the girls belonging to a far lower caste thus being of no importance to the society.

Anubhav Sinha after directing the much critically acclaimed Mulk yet another delivers a fine product in the form of Article 15. His angst and disappointment with the fractions of society engulfed with issues of this nature is clearly noticeable and becomes the highlight of his direction.

Police officers Bhramadatt (Manoj Pahwa) and Jatav (Kumud Mishra) alongside the dalit rebel Nishad (Mohd Zeeshan Ayub) give standout performance as supporting cast in the movie with powerful scenes of their own.

Ayushmann Khurrana yet again makes a perfect film choice, although this one may find Box office numbers to tick by a bit difficult. His performance as an officer perplexed by the society being hesitant to look beyond caste, religion etc and live in harmony is amazingly depicted and makes the movie very interesting to watch.

Overall, Article 15 may not be your regular popcorn entertainment movie where you seek a bunch of laughs and fun prior to heading home. It is a serious movie dealing with pressing issues that still continue to pollute our society. A movie that not only needs to be told, but also heard and bring about the abolition of the obstructive caste system. A must watch..