Article 15 director Anubhav Sinha on Karni Sena threat: 'People can disagree, but filmmakers can't be constantly bullied'

Anubhav Sinha’s social drama Article 15 has been mired with controversies ever since the release of the first trailer. Recently, a fringe outfit  Parshuram Sena alleged that the movie shows Brahmins in poor light, and there were also reports that Sinha’s effigies are being burnt outside film theatres to stop the film’s release. Now even Karni Sena has threatened to disallow the film’s screening in theatres.

Anubhav Sinha dismissed all allegations of the film being disrespectful towards Brahmins, stating that there are a lot of Brahmins associated with the making of the film, who would have objected had the said allegations been true. He adds that the film has been cleared by the Central Bureau of Film Certification with a U/A certificate.

“It’s time people respected such institutions,” he told Mid-Day, adding that CBFC should report to the Home Ministry in order to curb such protests. “[People> can disagree, but such overt threats must stop, once and for all. Filmmakers can’t be constantly bullied,” he asserts. He further states that he does not seek the police to intervene immediately, as the threats are in the public domain.

Ayushmann Khurrana too has spoken about the reports of Brahmins in UP being upset over the portrayal of their community in the film. Khurrana says such accusations against the film are untrue.

“They have to realise that what they are doing is redundant and a waste of time and energy, they need to see the film and then realise what is right and wrong. In fact, Article 15 has already been certified by the CBFC, which is known to be strict with sensitive content,” he tells Press Trust of India.

Article 15 follows Ayushmann Khurrana, who plays a cop investigating the gangrape and murder of two girls from the Dalit community because they demanded a raise of Rs 3.

The film is  reportedly  loosely based on the 2014 Badaun rape case, where two girls were allegedly gang-raped and hanged to death from a tree.

Isha Talwar, Sayani Gupta, Manoj Pahwa 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.