Article 15 Review: A Hard Hitting Masterpiece Which Depicts The Reality And The Brutality Of Our Society!

Article 15 Review: A Hard Hitting Masterpiece Which Depicts The Reality And The Brutality Of Our Society!
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana
Directed By: Anubhav Sinha
4/5 Stars

The main action here unfolds when Ayan Ranjan (Ayushmann Khurrana), an IPS officer is given a posting at the Lalgaon Police Station and thus, comes face to face with perhaps one of the most challenging cases of his career. His only guiding anchor in the whole mess is his wife Aditi (Isha Talwar). Having an urbanized training and upbringing, the first setback Ayan faces is the stark contrast between the mentality and the customs between him and the locals of Lalgon. With the severe lingering of caste discrimination in the vicinity, Ayan battles his first case of three local girls who used to work in a factory going missing. 

While his subordinates (Kumud Mishra and Manoj Pahwa) however do not take the whole scenario seriously. But things take turn for the worse, when the bodies of two of the missing girls are found hanging atop a tree. But soon there is an immense pressure on Ayan to 'drop' the case. Especially its Ayan's subordinate Brahmabhatt (Manoj Pahwa) who relentlessly convinces him to drop the case. However, Ayan is determined to get to the root cause of this horrific incident unaware of the prevailing obstacles.

This Anubhav Sinha directorial film is like a nail biting who-dun-it crime novella. But what worked for the film is the intricacy and the reality it touched while highlighting the social issue in our country. The minute detailing and the nuances like the background score and the cinematography by Ewan Mulligan adds to the beauty of the film. The film manages to keep us hooked on to every grave situation on the scenario. There are some scenes especially the one where Ayushmann has a breakdown on the racial interchanges of the police authorities or the one where the police authorities get inside a dirty swamp in search for the missing girl which adds a profound impact in the story. 

Some of the dialogues are truly thought provoking. The filmmaker never loses the soul of the film and manages to encapsulate you through the characters and the ongoing scenes. It is needless to say, there are some moments which are bound to give you goosebumps in the narrative. The only drawback is that there are some parts where the ongoing track threatens to loose focus from the narrative. This also indirectly affects the length of the film. 

But the performances of the film is truly one of the biggest highlights. Ayushmann Khurrana essays a cop for the first time and how! He delves into the skin of the character and holds the film skillfully on his shoulders. There's never a dull moment with him on the frame. The other cast members especially Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Kumud Mishra and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub are extremely convincing in their respective characters. Watch this one to witness a riveting social issue and some very compelling performances.