Remove ‘Brahmin’ Film Or Else!…Every Effort Made By Protesters To Stop Release, Says Anubhav Sinha

 Getting his new  tremendously  forceful  political drama on  caste discrimination and  sexual outrage against  dis-empowered  women, into theatres has  not been  easy for  director Anubhav Sinha. In fact till late  in the evening on Thursday  many theatre  chains were  not sure if they  could release Article 15  the following morning.

Says  Anubhav , “I don’t even  know what the protests are all  about. Firstly they claimed the film was showingBrahmins in a bad light. Now the word is out that it is not true. We haven’t shown  Brahmins  or any group or community in  a bad light. Over 500 press people and 100 industry people have seen the film.And  they agree there  is no Brahmin bashing  in my film.”

 The latest attempt to  intimidate Anubhav Sinha’s  film boggles the mind.

Says  Anubhav,   “Now I have received another threat that I must remove the word ‘Brahmin’ from the film. So I am not very clear what they want. I am also wondering if they know what they want.Or are they simply  protesting because films with  a strong political content are  expected  to be  targeted.”

 Article  15 was  granted  a  ‘UA’ certificate  by  the Central Board  Of  Film Certification(CBFC).

The  irony doesn’t escape Anubhav. “The  film was cleared  by the censor board with nominal  cuts for  audiences  of all ages.And yet I’ve been  grappling with protesters  for weeks now . It’s  been a seriously  stressful pre-release  time for me. I’ve had  to deal with the Brahmin Samaj and the Karni Sena. Theatres were threatened. So advance booking didn’t open in  some places. Then  there  was a  court  petition asking  for a stay order on  our film. I am exhausted!”

Do the hurdles daunt  Anubhav Sinha and make him wary of  attempting another politically  informed  film?

“Not  at  all,” shoots back Anubhav. “In fact my next film will be ever more stark, honest  and powerful than Mulkand  Article 15.”