Witness the Gruesome Reality of the Caste System that Still Prevails in India.....

Ok…so the title “Article 15” is smartly placed as at a time when people are gathering knowledge about their constitutional rights and article 370, section 377 have been removed, it is quite evident that the audience is much more aware of the socio-political issues than before. Now, the director Anubhav Sinha adopts a conventional approach to showcase the horrific events that took place in 2014 in Badaun with two innocent girls that shocked the entire nation. This approach works also to a fair extent as the audience are keen to watch movies based on true stories and real events, which is why Bollywood cinema is evolving to become a much more content driven & realistic portrayal of the society in which we live.The movie is an investigative account of the murder of those two girls which was an outcome of the deeply rooted caste system that is still prevalent in the rural, underdeveloped, and remote areas of our country. The irony is that as shown from the lead protagonists’ view, majority of the people in our country are still victims of this sick mentality in the 21st century as well. The film also resonates with the audience as the urban audience is bound to connect with the journey that the lead actor Ayushman Khurana goes through as his character is basically an urban, sophisticated, modern, intelligent IPS officer who is shell-shocked as he comes face to face with the realities of the region in which he is transferred.Ayushman once again does full justice to his character as he plays the role of an IPS officer with the required doses of subtleness, maturity, and sensitivity. Further, he makes the character different from the police officers generally shown in Bollywood movies as he adds a tinge of class and eliteness to the role which surely makes his act convincing as the audience will understand that this guy is free from corruption and despite being a newbie, he has the guts and strength to take on the extremely complex case and at the same time he has the heart to fight for justice for the two innocent girls.The movie smoothly unwraps how all the people of these areas are culprits for bowing down to the conservative mentality of discriminating people with their castes and the well crafted & deeply researched screenplay also shows the apathy that the unfortunate people belonging to lower castes have to go through. It is no doubt a brave move to make a film on this sensitive subject as it not only is an eye opening experience for the audiences, but in this age of digital platforms, the movie will surely reach a wide section of the audience.Although, the movie may seem to be too grim and hard to digest for a section of audience and the pace of the movie is a bit slow, but the cast of terrific supporting actors including Kumud Mishra and Zeeshan Ayyub, make this movie worth a watch. Just like this case, there may be so many people suffering for mistakes that they haven’t even committed in the rural areas, it is a sad and deeply moving fact that still in most of the rural areas, people are succumbing to this narrow-minded affair that was made centuries back. No wonder wht India is still known as a third world country.Period.

The six month dull at the box office, after URI, is finally broken by an intriguing, dark, intense and mysterious movie, hindi cinema has given after a long long time.Based in the suburbs of UP, two scheduled caste minor girls are raped and hanged while the third one goes missing. Newly appointed Assistant Commissioner Ayan Ranjan (Ayushman) took upon himself to punish the culprits despite all odds. Article 15 of our constitution is about equality of human beings and it is the very urge of Ayushman in getting justice for the ones who have been outclassed by our society and that keeps the interest level going.Full marks to director Anubhav Sinha for creating a performance oriented script and weaving a layered story. Well-written dialogues, beautifully captured cinematography and impressive background score are the plus points. Ayushman has created a niche' for himself and portrayed the character superbly but the real highlight is the power packed performance of Manoj Pahwa who literally carried the first half on his shoulders. Ayushman-Vicky Kaushal-Rajkumar Rao have surely replaced the three Khans who have ruled for three decades. Either they choose their projects well or every technical details look well coordinated in their movies. Either way the movie stays with you even after its over and that's their hallmark.Just go for it if you look to spend 2 hours of meaningful entertainment.My Rating: 4/5

There are few movies where one feels like saluting the courage of the maker in taking up a burning issue of the country and more importantly dealing seriously with it without any box office trappings. So all credit to director Anubhav Sinha for making this film on the caste system in hinterland of India , all scenes in your face in their raw vitality.Based in an actual incident in a UP town where two teenaged girls were found hanging one morning. Police officer Ayushmann has come to this town on transfer and as he settles down to his job he gets exposed to an ongoing investigation of this case. His deputy Manoj Pahwa is scheming and ruthless and he is in the process of winding up the investigation by jailing the fathers of the two girls and closing the case as an honour killing. Ayushman however feels that there is more to the case and continues his investigation in locating the third girl. He gets help from the elder sister ( Sayani Gupta) but in the process he faces obstacles and annoys some people. He gets suspended but continues the probe. CBI takes over and they also want to close the case. Ayushman finally soves the case which actually pertains to people of the upper caste teaching a lesson to the lower caste labourers by raping and hanging the two young girls.The director is helped by the superb cinematography which brings out the locations in their grim texture . The inside of police stations, the hospital, the overflowing gutters, the shocked locals, the rural landscape etc are beautifully picturised by the cinematographer. Long after the movie ends, the following scenes leave an impression.1. The opening scene with Bob Dylan's song " Blowing in the wind " in the background. 2. The labourer going into the manhole to bring up sludge from the sewerage and vanden matram playing in the background. 3. The shot of the two hanging bodies shot in silhouette .4. Ayushman getting informed about the castes from his staff, as he questions them, finally asking them " What caste am I ?".5. Policeman Manoj pleading with Ayushman not to disturb the peaceful balance between the upper and lower castes.6. The policeman trying to influence the doctor to change the findings of the post mortem report.