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Movie Review By Rishi Kapoor

We promote incredible India but do we know there are areas / zilas / villages in our country where crime still take place on the name of caste , religion , gender privileges , etc. It isn’t every day that we come face-to-face with the ugly truths of our society and feel obligated to do something about the things that are often overlooked.

Inspired by the real-life Badaun killings — and a stirring tribute to Alan Parker’s 1988 procedural thriller Mississippi Burning — this film features policemen hushing up the murder and gangrape of three 15-year-old girls because they belong to a lowered caste.

It is a grim, unrelenting and essential film, one throwing up truths we choose to forget.

Ayushmann plays an IAS officer named Ayan Ranjan who sets foot in the town and is appalled to learn about the murder of two teenage girls who are found hanging by a tree. The teenagers had committed one ‘crime’- asking a hike of Rs 3 as part of their daily wages. The girls worked in a factory for a living. In return, they were raped and murdered, to put them in their ‘place’. The rest of the movie focuses on how Ayan sets out on a mission to ‘unmess’ the messed up system.

Written by Gaurav Solanki and Anubhav Sinha, the film has the stench of honesty. It is hauntingly shot by Ewan Mulligan, who slides through the shadows to zero in on acute specifics: the breakfast prepared before a murder, the everyday banality of a crime scene, and — most unforgettably — a man cleaning a filthy black drain. Brilliant camerawork and at the same time equally good background score that keeps the audience on edge of their seat.

Ayushmann has aced his role and leaves us intrigued each time he is on screen. By playing a cop for the first time, he has proven his versatility as an actor. Isha Talwar plays his long-distance girlfriend Aditi and the banter between the two will reach out to your conscience. Sayani Gupta as Gaura is hard-hitting and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub makes his presence felt despite his limited screen time.

The performances to watch out from come from Kumud Mishra and Manoj Pahwa , both were in top form and others including Nassar, Ronjini Chakraborty, Sushil Pandey have given powerful performances.

Anubhav Sinha made a good impact with Mulk ( his best ) and now Article 15 raise the bar further high. A gripping plot with a social importance in today’s world makes this movie worth a watch