Based on the socio-political situation of India, the lives of police officers are followed. In a country where discrimination is everywhere, whether related to race or caste, the officers embark on a journey of acceptance and change.
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Director: Anubhav Sinha
After taking a sledgehammer to confront Islamophobia and intolerance in his last film Mulk, Anubhav similarly rips the door off its hinges in this brazen indictment of a centuries-old caste system and the oppression and atrocities it endorses. Article 15 isn’t just an important film, it’s a powerful one and it’s superbly made. It comes at you all kicking and screaming, but this is a film that justifies its tone. Don’t miss it. I’m going with four out of five. It’ll rattle your core. In Mulk, Anubhav gave us a more intimate story of a family that we could emotionally invest in. Article 15 doesn’t allow for that. But Anubhav succeeds in showing us that the heart of darkness isn’t in some far-flung corner of India. It’s within us because at the very least we’ve supported the inhumane 2000-year old caste system with little things – like keeping separate dishes for the house help. In one scene, a man enters a gutter to unclog it and emerges drenched in filth. His work keeps our lives sanitised – literally and figuratively. Article 15 compels you to recognise this. And that is a considerable achievement. What do you do when the system is the bad guy? There are no revelations here. Article 15 is not a film in search of easy answers. Instead, it is a reminder that we already know the questions but don’t ask them enough. Not cool, sir.
To make films which toplines these subjects is a way of getting us to talk, and, in an ideal world, start some kind of a push-back against injustice and oppression, things we have dangerously begun taking for granted. Article 15 may have an unsatisfactory element or two, but as a film, it rushes in to tread forgotten grounds. It is what is needed, call it what you will– a clarion call, a bugle, a shout-out.Make it worth your time, because if we don’t watch it, who will?
Sinha draws many of its plot elements from newspaper headlines of recent years, the principal one related to the 2014 Badaun gangrape and killing of two girls and the 2016 Una flogging of Dalit men and employs them methodically to probe caste and gender fissures and fault lines. It remains true to the demands of the plot without losing control over its principal purpose – administering a bitter pill with just a hint of a sugar coating. It works wonderfully well. Article 15 is a not to be missed film.
Anubhav Sinha’s ‘Article 15’ is designed like a crime thriller. And what works for the film is that it’s thought provoking, hard hitting while unflinchingly bringing to light burning social issues.The film’s storyline, interspersed with powerful and poignant moments leaves you with goose-bumps. ‘Article 15’ is not a light watch, but it is definitely relevant, compelling and a film that will spark conversation.
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