Three rupees.....Article 15 and The Right to Equality....

Three rupees.....Article 15 and The Right to Equality....

Three rupees.....loose change which may be lying around in our houses or in our purses....An amount which even the beggars of Mumbai would refuse to accept. But just three rupees became the cause of rape and murder of two minor girls a couple of years ago in 2014  in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh.  It acquired caste and class ramifications to the extent of converting cold-blooded murder into honour killings. 

The Hindi film , Article 15 , is based on this story and the right to equality. Just last month on November 26th we celebrated Constitution Day. In fact the program is extended upto 14th April, Ambedkar Jayanti. Yet really speaking is the preamble of our constitution understood and implemented in letter and spirit? 

The film opens with a parody on the paradoxical livings of the upper caste and the lower caste and pans over to two horifically frightened faces of little girls barely in their teens. It is enough to portray and imagine what must have possibly happened. This incident coincides with the accidental punishment posting of Ayaan, a young IPS officer of the upper caste who really speaking is "cool". The film is a journey of his exposure to the literal face of the caste system which is still embedded in our very own India. And remember this is not restricted to rural India but extends to semi-urban and urban areas. 

One look at our matrimonial columns and no explanation is needed for the above. However much one denies, caste is embedded in our psyches and at times is reflected in conversations of contempt against reservations for the scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and Other backward classes. 

Article 15 brings forth this narrative very conspicuously. 

The film is certainly hard hitting as it exposes the underlying caste class dimensions and political ruthlessness in the village. 

Article 15 in our constitution guarantees the Right to Equality and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. However what happens in the village is eons away from the reality. 

The film is actually an investigation of the disappearance of the third girl and various dimensions associated with it. Her sister Gaura, and Nishad, Gaura's rebel boyfriend who commands enough clout among the conservancy staff to prevent cleaning of the city and dump debris in font of the Additonal SP's house and offce. Ayaan's interaction with him convinces him that the IPS Officer is well meaning and so he calls of the strike of the conservancy workers but continues his fight against the Mahant , a spiritual guru with political ambitions. What follows is the shot of a sewage cleaner dunking himself into an overflowing sewer which displays the harsh reality of manual scavenging which still exists covertly in many parts of the country. 

Ayaan's persistence and grit ultimately lead him to the culprits two of whom are also in the police. His struggle to ensure justice is prevented  when his suspension orders are issued for being caste biased and by bringing in the CBI to take over the case. Ironically, Ayaan is supported in the investigation by the very same Secretary of the Home Department, Government of India who had sent him on his punishment posting. 

He lives upto his expectations and completes the investigation personally by entering into a pig pond himself in search of Pooja, the third girl who is missing. The movie ends on a happy note with Gaura finding her sister and their fathers acquitted of honour killing. However can that bring back to life the two girls who had been raped and murdered?  Can we ever feel the physical and mental trauma borne by these girls or women or the scars on their minds and bodies? And in reality more than 70 percent of the rape cases go unreported for obvious reasons. We are silent spectators to perverts and perpetrators of the crime. Till bodies of women are seen as objects of lust or as property to be gotten there is little hope. Much thought needs to be given to changing the psyche of men and moulding the minds of boys and girls. 

As regards the movie it has many scenes which touch your heart. Gaura's interaction with Nishad and his regret that he could neither buy flowers for her not sit by a river watching the moon. Ayaan's support to Dr.Malti for completing the post mortem of the victims and DNA testing of the culprits. His concern for his unsuccessful friend Satyendra. 

Ayaan's vulnerability is also reflected in a scene when he says that he knows why his girlfriend Aditi is unsure of him since he never sees the spark in her eyes which Gaura has for Nishaad. However her arrival at Laalgaon and the matter of fact hug says it all.

The movie is intense throughout with such tender moments and captures Ayaan's catharsis through his conversations with Aditi. 

All characters in the film have been etched carefully and carry out their roles to the tee. 

The music keeps up the pace of the film. Specially Bob Dylan's track, " How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? ’'.

My mind has been in turmoil after watching the film. Life may not be as dark for many of us yet a world of haves and have-nots definitely exists and many of us are not even aware of it. Some of us may even offer lip service or brush things under the carpet. 

Yes, Article 15 is a hard hitting film and brings out this fact that our constitution is probably under threat. 

I am not an avid movie goer and was able to see the film as it was shown as part of course work at the Academy in Mussorie or would have certainly missed it. So for those of you haven't still seen it, do get your copy on Amazon or Netflix and watch it. It mirrors what may have been said earlier in many films but differently enough to tug your heart.