Divided we fall, United we stand. But do we all understand that especially when it comes to religion in our country? Forget religion, we stand divided on caste and even sub-caste. A hilarious scene in Article 15 between the cops walking in a swamp depicts this starkly and makes you feel extremely despondent and uncomfortable. The biggest highlight of the film? Yes.
And mind you, Anubhav Sinha (yes, that Mulk director again who made your jaw drop in the Rishi Kapoor-Taapsee Pannu flick) leaves no stone unturned yet again to make you squirm in your seat at several points in the film by not just visuals but even tender moments exchanged on text messages between Ayushmann Khurrana and Isha Talwar.
Sinha's Article 15 is a beauty almost all the way, slapping you hard with dialogues like: I am proud of my country but something is messed up, I want someone who doesn't wait for the hero to arrive, Daag achche hain.
Ayushmann depicts helplessness, determination and attitude admirably in his complex role of a cop who is up against all odds. This man knows how to separate the meat from the bone, when it comes to selecting films. Isha is extremely convincing as his wife.
So "What The F**k Is Going On Here?" is merely a line in the film which Ayushmann uses more than once and I'll be a spoiler if I tell you what follows thereafter.
Manoj Pahwa has a very meaty role and thoroughly bites into it. Kumud Mishra and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub leave a mark. Designed as a crime thriller, Article 15 tends to slacken in pace and fills up the screen with too many characters, at times. The background score is terrific, but wonder why Sinha had to end the film with a rap song!
It's just that I would like to keep an extra-half with Mulk (FOUR). It was more in-the-face. It had more ba**s.
I am going with THREE-and-HALF.
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