Article 15: Ayushmann Khurrana's social drama 'maligns' Brahmin community, claims UP outfit

The first trailer of Article 15, starring Ayushmann Khurrana was released on 30 May. A commentary on the country’s caste system, the film has drawn ire from the Brahmin community in Uttar Pradesh, according to Indo-Asian News Service (IANS). The trailer shows Khurrana investigating the gangrape and murder of two Dalit girls because they demanded a meagre raise of Rs 3. The men, who committed the crime in the film have been referred to as ‘Mahantji ke ladke’ (Mahantji’s boys). Mahantji is mentioned as a Brahmin of the highest order, notes IANS. The clip also shows that people believe Dalits should not demand higher wages and how their status is dictated by upper caste communities. [caption id=“attachment_6721311” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from Article 15 teaser. YouTube[/caption] The film is  reportedly loosely based on the 2014 Badaun rape case, where two girls were allegedly gangraped and hanged to death from a tree. “If the film is based on the Badaun incident, where was the need to turn the accused into Brahmins? It is obvious that the intention is to malign the Brahmin community. We have started creating awareness about the issue and we will not allow the film to release here,” said Kushal Tiwari, a student leader from Parshuram Sena. He added that they are launching a campaign on social media and have even tried to contact director Anubhav Sinha. He further added that the organisation was unaware of the film’s plot, so they did not protest while it was being shot in Lucknow in March and April. Manoj Pahwa, who plays a pivotal role in Article 15 told IANS that the film has been inspired by the incident and not completely based on the Badaun rape case. Isha Talwar, Sayani Gupta, Kumud Mishra, M Nassar, Ashish Verma, Sushil Pandey, Shubrajyoti Bharat, Ronjini Chakraborty and Zeeshan Ayyub are also part of the cast. Article 15 is scheduled to hit theatres on 28 June.