Media Studies

ASSIGNMENT NO : 1

Name : Rushikesh Pramod Sawant

Roll No : 43
 Article 15 Movie Review

Film: Article 15
Cast: Ayushmann Khurranna, Sayani Gupta, Kumud Mishra,
Manoj Pahwa, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Hindi; U/A; 2 hours, 20 minutes
Stars: 4 Stars

Anubhav Sinha's Article 15 is a hard-hitting film that tackles the

caste discrimination that is rampant in India – and, as this story
shows, fatally so at times.

The country is predominantly Hindu, the religion from

which the caste system stems. It prides itself in its message that
“unity is diversity” and has been the biggest democracy in the
world for more than seven decades. The values and rules of the
country all stem from the Constitution of India, a book and legal
guide drafted by BR Ambedkar (who was from the Dalit caste,
but eventually converted from Hinduism to Buddhism and
campaigned against caste discrimination).

The film draws its title from Article 15 of this book: this forbids
discrimination against any citizen on grounds of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth. But the reality is that caste
discrimination is a malaise that is widespread, especially in the
Hindi heartland. This reality is driven home multiple times by the
film, with its cast full of stellar performances. In fact, almost every
dialogue and performance deserves applause. There are exactly
four lines of comic relief, but those are so pertinent and they
release the tension which builds with the rest of the scenes,
which are dead serious.

Sinha seems to want to find a middle path between cold reality

and a more rosy, hopeful world, but is conflicted which ideal to
cater to, at points. The film's overtly optimistic ending seems
rather out of place. But if we are talking about rapes in the name
of caste where are the women in the film? Sayani Gupta is
fabulous in whatever little we see of her. Her eyes look wretched
and you believe that she is actually living the role of a woman who
is trying to fight for survival in a cruel world. Yet, there are only
tantalising snatches of her. That's it. Ayan's girlfriend Isha Talwar,
who is an activist, exists solely to either be upset with him or
motivate him, and then again recede into the background.

Lead actor Ayushmann Khurrana, following on from the success

of Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho, plays senior police officer Ayaan
Ranjan, who has been partially educated abroad and has to
come to grips with the reality of caste discrimination - something
he has read mostly about in the media - when one gruesome and
unjust murder case lands on his desk. In real life, Khurrana
belongs to the highest grade of Brahmins, and so it the top of the
caste order.

Directing and producing this highly sensitive social drama is

Anubhav Sinha, who last directed the popular Mulk, which
tackled Islamaphobia.

The movie tells a story based in reality, and builds on

the 2014 Badaun rape case, in which two teenage women were
murdered in Uttar Pradesh. The women were from the Dalit
caste, seen as the lowest on the ladder. The police say the
women, who were hanged in public, were not raped, however the
families to this day insist that they were. Sinha's plot details the
death of two sisters, and the search for their one cousin who
goes missing. The case unfolds just as the protagonist cop
Ranjan takes charge of his posting in the rural district of Lalganj.
As he investigates, he exposes many forms of discrimination: job
quotas, untouchability, honour killings over relationships between
people from different castes, rape and torture. The film makes
the audience really look at how these things play out in society.
There are moments of satire, played out so well by the
dependable Kumud Mishra as Jatav, a lower caste police officer
and Manoj Pahwa, a senior Brahmdutt Singh from the upper
caste. Apart from Khurrana and his deputies in the police force,
stealing the limelight is Sayani Gupta (Gaura) and Zeeshan
Ayyub (who plays her love interest, Nishad). Gupta’s expressive
eyes handle a range of emotions: she plays a woman in love,
and someone who is still hopeful of justice while having to be
subservient. She also portrays the emotions of mourning: her
three cousins are the victims at the centre of the plot. Article 15
might be rough around the edges and might have its fair share of
flaws with regard to storytelling, but it is indeed a film to be
watched. It's a start. It cannot change society but it at least can
initiate a conversation and debate that examines the horrors that
lurk in this very society, invisible to our privileged eyes.

Towards the end of Article 15, we meet a prejudiced

officer from the elite Central Bureau of Investigation, played by
Nasser, who is threatening to undo Khurrana's investigation. But
in the film we see his conscience being appealed to: this will
perhaps send a message to the audience, but doesn't feel overly
verbose or admonishing. The most predictable (but still very
pertinent) moment comes via a rap that directly speaks to
modern India, with the lyrics "let’s make a difference. Shall we
begin?"