ARTICLE 15

In the rural heartlands of India, an upright police officer sets out on a crusade against violent caste-based crimes and discrimination.

A Hindi movie about the Indian cast system. Exactly what Indians need. No sarcasm.

I know nothing much about the caste system, but I know enough I think. Just like how people are divided based on appearance, religion, family origins and preferences, the caste system is just another diving factor in humanity that is taken very seriously in India. Having being a sensitive issue for years, people do not dare to talk about it, much less make an entire movie about it. Also, for the people who are not very verse on the caste system in India, there are 5 levels to it (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, Dalits). It is not just the awareness that has been spread about the severe consequences of the caste system in the judicial field, but also to let people out of India know. For that, I thank the makers of Article 15. If you do not know, Article 15 is an act in the Constitution of India regarding equality of the human race.

I do not really want to get into the details of this system (it would get ugly). So, I am just going to write about the movie and the issue here itself. In this movie, the premise is that the Untouchables are not given the same rights to file a crime, and are looked down upon in the face of law, for crime cases involving them are not significant and are ignored. The murder of "Dalit" girls in a village, that was shown no importance whatsoever is the premise of this film. As a movie, that premise is to die for, in reality it makes me want to stab myself. The fact that these things still happen, and only some of them are recorded in history, thousands more unknown to humankind makes me sick. How can we progress as a human race if criteria's still divide us, may they be thousands of years old and brought down by our forefathers?

The one thing I can never get talking about is probably Ayushmann Khurana. He did really well here, again totally believable and it really feels like you are in a room with an inspector fighting for righteousness among a conservative community. There were so many scenes where I did not quite know that was the case in India when I first watched this film, as where I am from, cast systems do not apply here. Like for instance, people of higher caste cannot drink or touch the water that the lower caste use. Another, the Untouchables are not allowed to enter certain religious grounds like temples in certain regions. After watching this movie and doing more research did I actually know, yes, it is truly like that in India, even in the 21st century. I watched this with my grandad and he confirmed that it is still and always will continue to be like this. Certain ideas are imperishable. We are even having a hard time accepting LGBTQ+ rights, which was introduced way after the caste system in India that dates to thousands of years ago. How can we possibly catch up? With an undying faith and unbreakable unity.

I will not spoil this film as a plot review will definitely do that, and I think this movie is worth a watch (for open-minded people). 

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Sayani Gupta, Nassar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Isha Talvar, Mohammed Zeeshan, Ronjini Chakraborty, Veen Harsh, Vivek Yadav, Ashish Verma, Sushil Pandey, Kapil Tilhari, Aakash Dabhade, Shubrajyoti Bharat, Sumbul Touqeer

Director: Anubhav Sinha 

Year released: 2019

Link to watch full movie with english subtitles: