Article 15 (film)

Article 15 is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed and produced by Anubhav Sinha, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gaurav Solanki. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana as a police detective who investigates the disappearance of three girls from a small village, uncovering a history of caste-based oppression. Nassar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Isha Talwar, Sayani Gupta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Sushil Pandey, Veen Harsh and Sumbul Touqeer appear in supporting roles.

The film is named after Article 15 of the Constitution of India, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or birthplace. While not based on one specific event, the film is inspired by multiple real-life cases involving crimes driven by caste-based discrimination, including the 2014 Badaun gang rape allegations. Principal photography began on 1 March 2019 in Lucknow. The film's soundtrack was composed by Anurag Saikia, Piyush Shankar, Devin Parker and Gingger with lyrics written by Rashmi Virag, Shakeel Azmi, Slow Cheeta, Dee MC, Kaam Bhaari and SpitFire, released under the banner Zee Music Company.

Ayan Ranjan, an idealistic Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and St. Stephen's College graduate, is assigned to the rural village of Laalgaon in Uttar Pradesh as the Additional Superintendent of Police. Upon arrival, he is welcomed by local officers Brahmadatt Singh and Kisan Jatav. Ayan immediately encounters deep-rooted caste discrimination, which he routinely discusses over the phone with his wife, Aditi. During his welcoming reception, local villagers plead with the police to find three missing Dalit girls, but their requests are dismissed. At the same gathering, Ayan notices his college friend, Satyendra Rai, a state government employee, behaving suspiciously.