After 2018’s socio-political drama, Mulk, Anubhav Sinha is back with another film — Article 15, also on the theme of discrimination. Starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Isha Talwar, the film’s poster and a teaser clip were released on Monday, May 27.
The film’s tagline, “Farq bahut kar liya, ab farq laayenge” means “we have discriminated enough, now it’s time for change”. The reflection on Ayushmann’s glasses shows two girls hanged to death, a reminder of the 2014 Badaun gangrape case, where two girls were allegedly gang raped and their bodies later found hanging from a tree in the Badaun village in Uttar Pradesh.
The film draws on this incident, with its teaser releasing five years to the day that the case took place. The teaser got four lakh views within six hours of its release.
As the title suggests, the movie is based on Article 15 of the Indian Constitution which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. The film’s makers researched for over six months to draw inferences from true events. Director Anubhav Sinha calls the movie an investigative drama, adding that such a challenging film needed an extraordinary actor like Ayushmann, who he called a delight to work with.
The teaser starts off with a voiceover by Ayushmann Khuranna, who plays a cop in the movie. He quotes Article 15 of the Indian constitution, as video clips depict a contrasting reality to the ethos of the secular constitution: Communal riots, saffron flags, gunfire and destruction.
In a statement, Ayushmann said, “I'm always intrigued by the socio-political situation of our country. We hardly see films which present the situation in an unbiased way.” The teaser ends with a shout out to act, a firm reminder to recall the very article in our constitution that unites India as one single force.
The movie is slated for release at an apt time, as India has seen an alarming rate of communal violence amidst the rise of a Hindutva government. The story serves as a reminder against such atrocities. While Mulk dealt with the prejudices faced by the Muslims in this country, Article 15 takes a dig at the nation as a whole, where, as the director said, the audience too is an accused party
The trailer is set to release on May 30. The film has been selected as the opening film for the 10th edition of the London Indian Film Festival, to be premiered on June 20 with a scheduled release in Indian theatres on June 28.