WHAT A MOVIE ????????????! At a time when people flock the theatres to watch movies like “Bharat” & “Kabir Singh” there comes a movie like “Article 15” , which not just shakes you up as an individual but also makes you think seriously about the prejudices that we “INDIANS” have towards certain sections , race , cast , sex and religion even today , where even after 72 years of Independence , although we claim to be in a society , with liberal thoughts and progressive mindset but in reality we are completely divided in the name of these so called fallacies ! The film’s title refers to the provision in the Indian Constitution that prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth. However do we actually follow that ?
Directed by Anubhav Sinha , “Article 15” is set in a fictitious village Lalgaon in Uttar Pradesh , where a Young IPS officer “Ayan Ranjan” played by “Ayushmann Khurrana” takes charge of a police station and is welcomed by getting a case where 2 young girls are murdered and are hung from a tree in the village , while a 3rd girl who was with the other 2 , disappears mysteriously. Upon further investigation , Ayushmman finds out that the girls were brutally gang raped , gagged and then hung on the trees , all because they had asked for “ONLY 3 RUPEES” raise in their daily wages ! However the circumstancial evidences were being created as if the girls were killed by their own fathers and it was being termed as a case of “HONOUR KILLING”! While the 3rd girl was still missing and the investigations were on , the story slowly unveils the bitter truth of how our society is divided on the basis of caste and how the so called “Upper Classes” discriminates the downtrodden from weaker sections of the society , the so called , “Lower Classes”!
Ayushmman Khurrana , gives one of his best performances till date . His choice of films and the conviction with which he pulls off the role is truly commendable . He does a wonderful job as the IPS officer who is Incharge of the investigation and is embroiled in this web of casteism and yet delivers a top notch performance . What is significant is the narrative of how things are being interpreted and being said ! There are a lot of funny scenes that’s played for laughs, one of them being where Ayushmann asks his junior officers to reveal what caste they belong to, only to find out that there is a hierarchy even within lower subcastes .The supporting cast of Manoj Pahwa ( who is specially in top form ) , Kumud Mishra , Sayani Gupta ( who lets her eyes do all the talking ) , Nasser as the CBI officer who comes to take over the investigation from Ayushmann and also a very special appearance by the very talented Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub are the other strong pillars of this hard hitting movie . Isha Talwar as Ayushmann’s wife is also good , though she has very little scope of proving her acting prowess in this movie.
Excellent cinematography by Ewan Mulligan adds on to the beauty of the movie . One of the first few shots ( an aerial view ) where a Bob Dylan song playing at the background looks very picturesque and serene . The background music by Mangesh Dhakde pumps up energy into the movie . A special mention for the music piece leading up to the interval of the movie which gives you goosebumps and also the music piece leading up to the climax of the movie where the 3rd girl who was missing is being searched in the swamps of the village.
Written by Anubhav Sinha himself along with writer Gaurav Solanki , “Article 15” is a very well directed movie ( I finally forgive Anubhav Sinha for directing Ra-One ??) which is not just socially relevant but is also a very hard hitting movie that questions the “CONSTITUTION OF INDIA” in its true spirit where following it and giving equal rights to , “ONE AND ALL” , irrespective of their caste , sex , religion , race is what we should be doing and we all must also follow what is mentioned in the tagline of the movie “ AB FARQ NAHI KARENGE. AB FARQ LAYENGE “ ??????My recommendation. A MUST WATCH ! ??????