Article 15

About the film

Article 15 is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed and produced by Anubhav Sinha, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gaurav Solanki. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana as a police detective who investigates the disappearance of three girls from a small village, uncovering a history of caste-based oppression. Nassar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Isha Talwar, Sayani Gupta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Sushil Pandey, Veen Harsh and Sumbul Touqeer appear in supporting roles.

The film is named after Article 15 of the Constitution of India, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or birthplace. While not based on one specific event, the film is inspired by multiple real-life cases involving crimes driven by caste-based discrimination, including the 2014 Badaun gang rape allegations. Principal photography began on 1 March 2019 in Lucknow. The film's soundtrack was composed by Anurag Saikia, Piyush Shankar, Devin Parker and Gingger with lyrics written by Rashmi Virag, Shakeel Azmi, Slow Cheeta, Dee MC, Kaam Bhaari and SpitFire, released under the banner Zee Music Company.

Plot

Ayan Ranjan, an idealistic Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and St. Stephen's College graduate, is assigned to the rural village of Laalgaon in Uttar Pradesh as the Additional Superintendent of Police. Upon arrival, he is welcomed by local officers Brahmadatt Singh and Kisan Jatav. Ayan immediately encounters deep-rooted caste discrimination, which he routinely discusses over the phone with his wife, Aditi. During his welcoming reception, local villagers plead with the police to find three missing Dalit girls, but their requests are dismissed. At the same gathering, Ayan notices his college friend, Satyendra Rai, a state government employee, behaving suspiciously.

The next morning, two of the missing girls are discovered hanging from a tree, while the third, Pooja, remains missing. Ayan orders Brahmadatt to file a First Information Report (FIR) and secure a postmortem analysis. Although the autopsy reveals the victims were repeatedly gang-raped before being murdered, Brahmadatt suppresses the findings. Instead, he fabricates a narrative claiming the girls were cousin-lovers in an incestuous relationship who were victims of an honor killing by their own fathers. Meanwhile, tensions escalate as activists from the Bhim Sangharsh Sena (BSS), led by a man named Nishad, clash with local authorities to demand immediate justice. Deeply disturbed by the cover-up, Ayan commits himself to solving the case.

Gaura, Pooja's sister, informs Ayan that the girls worked for a local builder, Anshu Naharia, who had assaulted them after they demanded a wage increase of three rupees. Despite Brahmadatt's warnings that Anshu is related to influential Minister Ramlal Naharia, Ayan brings him in for questioning. Anshu callously admits to the assault, stating it was meant to remind the girls' caste of their societal standing. Disgusted by the systemic bigotry within the community and his own police force, Ayan prints and posts Article 15 of the Constitution of India—which prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth—on the station bulletin board.

Production

The storyline of the film is based on the socio-political situation of the country, post-independence time drawing inferences from true-life events researched over the last 6 months, akin to Mulk. Giving details on the film, Anubhav Sinha stated that "this film is an investigative drama where the audience too is an accused party ... A very challenging film that needed an extraordinary actor like Ayushmann."

Principal photography began on 1 March 2019 in Lucknow. During filming, Ayushmann Khurrana and the team entered into a swamp filled with leeches to shoot scenes of the film. Filming was concluded in April 2019.

Release

Article 15 had been selected as the opening film for the 10th edition of London Indian Film Festival to be premiered on 20 June. It was released in India on 28 June 2019.

It was made available for streaming on Netflix.

Reception

Article 15 received critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 90% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10.

Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost concurred with Sengupta and Sharma, gave four and a half stars out of five and found 'Sinha's unfaltering direction' was backed by Ewan Mulligan's 'unsparing cinematography' and a 'strong cast'. Concluding, she wrote, "Watching this film is an overwhelming emotional experience," and she opined, Article 15 is the best that Indian cinema can be in these troubled times if it chooses to hold a mirror up to our society..." Raja Sen writing for Hindustan Times rated the film with four and a half star out of five and opined that the film is a tribute to Alan Parker the director of 1988 film Mississippi Burning. He praised Solanki and Sinha for honest writing, haunting shots by Mulligan and performances of ensemble. Ending his writing, he said, "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'." Vijayalakshmi Narayanan of Radio City gave the film four and a half stars out of five, and said "Coming to the cast, Ayushmann leads from the front and one cannot be thankful enough. The actor proves his mettle yet again when it comes to backing good scripts. He makes the right noise even in his moments of melancholy."

Key details