*Disappointing, but not on all fronts.*
Article 15 is directed by Anubhav Sinha, who has also directed films like Ra.One and Mulk. I was keen on watching this film after the attention-trapping trailer because of what the movie is trying to portray. I.e. what the condition of rural India actually is.
It’s a relevant topic which must be discussed and there are not enough movies portraying this.
I went into this film expecting a gripping and dark film. The first half gave me that. The build up was interesting and shrouded with mystery and I thought that the pay off to buildup will be ground breaking but for me, it felt flat and there were lot of loose strands left of the plot.
When the movie finished, I didn’t feel satisfied.
I surely didn’t get what the build up promised and I left the theatre a tad bit disappointed. Not getting into spoilers of course, some characters felt that they were just there to increase the screentime and didn’t add much to the plot.
The scenes with them completely strayed away from the good parts of the film i.e. Aayushman Khurrana.
His stoicism was matched with emotion and was a very likable presence. His performance was very good. Manoj Pahwa was extremely scary and Kumud Mishra was effective with a nuanced performance. The cinematography and lighting was gorgeous. Most of the scenes took place during dusk and late night which gave an eerie feeling and put me on edge.
It was a nice touch because the feeling of *something is going to happen* was brought.
The background score was perfect in the first half with a Hans Zimmer-isque feel to it but after the intermission, the score got repetitive. All in all, Article 15 is a very relevant film with good performances and okay-ish plot which could have been much better.
———————RATING————————
Story: Good
Performance: Excellent
Treatment: Excellent
Recommendation: Must be seen because of the message.
Film reviews by the Youngest Film Critic 