Article 15: The Bitter Truth of our Society
On the onset I would say kudos to Anubhav Sinha, for attempting such a subject and that to in a commercial format. I don’t remember any main stream director even trying to do something on the subject of caste divide in our Indian society.
The movie which is inspired the Badaun Rape of 2014, tells the story of 
Ayan Ranjan (Ayushman Khurana) a new recruit as DCP, who goes for his first posting at Lalgaon a small district in Uttar Pradesh.In his very first assignment he has a case of two dalit girls who are hanged to death and a missing girl.What unfolds in Ayan’s quest for resolving the case is what the movie is all about.
Written by Anubhav Sinha himself and Gaurav Solanki the movie does not waste any time and throws you in to harsh reality of caste system which still prevails in modern India. The writers very smartly weave the movie with a social message in a crime thriller format with enough twists and turns which eventually makes it worth a watch. There is not a single frame where you are not engrossed. Every character in the movie is fleshed out well and has something to contribute in the whole scheme of things.
The movie is a compilation of some memorable and heartwarming sequences like the sequence when Ayan Ranjan enquires his team about their caste, it was hilarious yet it was extremely hard hitting and drives home the message how we follow a shallow system in our society. You will also cringe in some sequences like the sequence when a Dalit scavenger dips himself in the man hole and cleans the gutter without any precaution and he is covered with filth. Both Anubhav and Gaurav make us uncomfortable from the word go and I am sure we will all relate to one or the other incident in our lives when our families also discriminated between us and the low caste. Definitely a fabulous script in recent times.
Another ace for Anubhav was the ensemble cast, starting with Ayushman Khurana who plays Ayan Ranjan with so much conviction and sincerity that he creates the requisite impact and how. We have seen Ayushman in comic frothy roles, this movie establishes him as a serious actor. Manoj Pahwa as
Brahmadutt Singh is another actor who creates a great impact and establishes again that he is a brilliant actor. Kumud Mishra as the low caste constable Jatav brings the caste divide beautifully in the movie
and yet again proves his mettle. Sayani Gupta as Gaura brings that fire and frustration of the low caste so effortlessly that you are drawn towards her performance from the word go. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub as the torch bearer and the leader of the low caste in brief role creates the requisite impact. Even the other actors like Ashish Verma, Shubrajyoti Bharat, Rojini Chakraborty, Sushil Panday, Nassar in a special appearance all do a brilliant job.
The two other technicians who make the movie impactful, first being the cinematographer Ewan Mulligan who creates the grimness through his camera so brilliantly that you are drawn to every frame and the mystery that he creates also gives the movie the edgy look, second the background score by Mangesh Dhakde which again accentuates the impact of every scene. After a long time the background music actually added value to every frame and gave the feeling of eeriness and discomfort.
Anubhav Sinha after his last outing Mulk yet again proves that with Article 15 that he can handle topical and sensitive subjects with élan. Though subtlety his not Anubhav’s strong point but still he drives home
the message with a sledge hammer and forces you to think and make you uncomfortable in some way.Looking forward for more such topical movies from Anubhav Sinha.
Article 15 is NOT your regular popcorn fluffy movie which you see to entertain yourself, but a hard hitting griping saga which shows us the mirror of our Indian society and how we follow shallow caste system, definitely a MUST WATCH, I will go with 4 stars.
Movie Rating: 
(4 / 5)