Article 15: Less is more.... (SPOILERS AHEAD)
There were a couple of surprising things about Article 15 that I really appreciated. One it showed the main protagonist (Ayan, played by Ayushmann Khurana) as someone who is not necessarily interested in being a hero but is drawn into a fight because of the outrageousness of the criminal injustice he encounters in small town India. If you know Bollywood movies you know that is unusual - typically the protagonist in such a tale is shown giving lectures about how righteous he is from the get go. Tell, don't show -- is the way it goes and the movie is typically unwatchable. Not here.
The second is that the film takes on the subject of caste head on. What a completely stale subject to stake a whole Bollywood production on! And that too with someone like Ayushmann who's been riding a winning streak of hits. Why risk all that? But, for reasons also alluded to in the film, I am glad Anubhav Sinha took this on and made the film. I did not know this going in, but I believe the film is inspired by the 2014 heinous gang rape and murder case in Badaun. If so there is never a mention of it.
Article 15 is a dark and chilling tale of the sub-human treatment of those deemed to be "low caste" in small town or rural India. Not only are they treated worse than animals, they reside at the very bottom of the economic ladder and justice has no meaning in their lives. A simple request for an increase in wages can have dire consequences; two minor girls brutally raped and murdered for just such a request are then left hanging from a tree as a "lesson" to the rest of their tribe. The criminals powerful, upper-caste men expect to go scot free and do. That is until Ayan the police inspector - Anubhav Sinha's hero - shows up. The rest is a tale of justice sought and found.
While the movie is well-played with a satisfying end (who doesn't love a good tale of justice delivered?), it missed being a powerful film that stays with you for days. In your face symbolism such as the playing of "vande mataram..." when Ayan realizes he is in the fight for good was unnecessary and annoying. Secondly, Ayan's journey while set up perfectly never quite raises the stakes sufficiently. He is shown to be an upper class (and upper caste), urban kid who is blind to the reality and rigors of caste. He is not only ignorant of the intricacies of it, he can hardly believe how rampant and deeply entrenched it is in the village he is in charge of. "Wild wild west..." - an allusion that would be lost to practically all of small town India - is how he describes it. This is how most of India lives but this is news to him, as is the case with most of urban India that (needs to) believes that caste is a thing of the past. However what's jarring is how it all ends in a "happy" end with Ayan (the savior!) carrying the missing third girl through the swamps. This scene perhaps scored drama points with the audience but left me asking for more. Perhaps also because in the very next scene Ayan is shown standing in his same jeans that are clean and dry!
A more bitter tale would have made the film more compelling. Such battles are won, if ever, in much more involved fights where the hero rarely emerges unscathed and heroic. But then perhaps it would not have delivered the hit Anubhav Sinha wanted which, is likely necessary to get the word out: Caste is still a thing, you know!
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Reena
Aug 13, 2019
