“Article 15” is a breath of fresh air when it comes to dealing with the problematic issue of caste and class in our country. The title of the film itself is striking in terms of its mundaneness and everydayness. It invokes the Constitution, establishing the supremacy of the law of the land from the very outset. The film has used humour in several places to bring out the absurdity of caste—a rare experiment—when a majority of the savarna lot in the country is otherwise always engaged in heated debates ridiculously centring around reservation (because for most of us caste consciousness arises only when we are confronted with the issue of reservation).
The film is based on real events and the hard-hitting visuals, as well as the seamless flow of incidents, brings back memories of learning of the Badaun case on news channels a few years back. The case, as usual, did not get enough media coverage, nor was there any public outcry against it. But a mainstream cinema incorporating the incident in its central theme is worth appreciating when we only have documentaries like India’s daughter (which was later banned) doing the rounds in people’s minds.
Yes, “Article 15” is not devoid of problems—the upper caste protagonist to begin with—and the film cannot match up to the standard of films like “Sairaat”—where the point of caste is dealt with great finesse and deftness and much more depth. But there is a difference. While “Sairaat” and the way it deals with caste brings out the issues in subtleties and makes one uncomfortable, Article 15 catches the issue by the horns, calls a spade a spade and makes one think. All these qualities are not exceptional but definitely commendable keeping in mind how mainstream cinema has little space for issues like the ones dealt with in the film.
In a country where the epitome of a middle-class dream is to become an IAS or IPS officer, Ayushmann Khurrana’s character appears as an ideal type. When I was young, I read about the concept of emulation in my psychology classes. So if the young civil services aspirants of India in any way get inspired to emulate Ayan Ranjan’s character, in his attempts to understand the realities of his society rather his immediate work surroundings, his growth from complaining about the noisy fan in his office to immersing himself in the investigation, his mature conversation with Nishad, I’d say we will be making some progress. Of course, he was only doing his job, and he is not to be hailed for it, but if only we do our jobs and apply all that we read candidly, (in this case the Constitution) shedding personal prejudices (which I know is hard but worth a try). I’d say watch “Article 15”, we have to begin somewhere and in the case of “Article 15”, the well begun is half done.