Article 15 I think may become the most socially-relevant movie of recent times because of how it strips away the mask of a so-called equal and just society by mirroring the deep-rooted caste system that thrives underneath. Although the movie brings up the harsh realities of caste dynamics present in our society, what it terribly couldn’t do is to vouch for who I think is the protagonist, Nishad, who is not ‘mainstream oriented’, and who is not an upper caste saviour. Yet he is the one who stands close to the reality of caste politics, who knows the taste of being the ‘other’, who I feel should be the real hero of the movie.
Instead, the movie chooses to show the realities of the caste system and how it operates in our mundane lives through the lens of an upper-caste ‘urbane’ IPS officer Ayan Ranjan, the hero of the movie, who barely is aware of the very system he is supposed to fight. To me, Nishad stands stronger as the hero as it relates to the aspirations of millions of Dalits who live that reality throughout their lives.
A Rustic Hero
To me, Nishad’s character draws way more attention as a ‘hero’ than that of an ignorant Ayan Ranjan. Nishad is fearless, revolutionary and wears on his sleeve his feelings of a tender lover. He is a composed person and draws his vocabulary from the likes of Bhagat Singh and Dr. Ambedkar. He is well aware of what constitutional rights mean for him and his communities. He pines for the paradoxes that this society offers in reality when he says “Hum kabhi Harijan ho jate hain, kabhi Bahujan ho jate hain. Bas jan nahi ban paate hain taaki jan gan man me hamari bhi ginti hai” (Sometimes we are ‘Harijans’, sometimes we are the ‘mass’. But we are never seen as just people who can have rights). He holds a mirror to Indian society in the real sense.
Not One To Kneel Down
Nishad, born and brought up in a so-called ‘low-caste’, is not only conscious of his identity but of all the atrocities and oppression that his caste and community go through as part of their destined life. He does not remain a mute helpless spectator, he consciously chooses a path of rebellion, a path that may not lead to redemption, and prosperity, that leads to a perpetual struggle for a dignified and just life for everyone. He does not conform to the normative social structure that sanctions for an unequal division of society based on caste groups and that boosts up the hierarchical supremacy of the so-called ‘upper-caste’ on one hand and subjugates the so-called ‘lower-caste’ on the other.
Nishad not only gauges the prevalent social conditions, but he also asserts the rights for his fellow mates, appeals for their non-cooperation at what they do to run society. He whispers: “Main aur tum inhe dikhayi nahi dete, inka kachra saaf karo, kheto me kam karo, bachhe sambhalo, gandagi saaf karo. Insaaf ki bhikh mat mango bas, jo bhi kaam karte ho band kar do” (You and I are invisible to these people. Clean their garbage, work in their fields, take care of their children, clean their dirt. Just don’t ask for justice). In many ways, he reiterates the struggles of Rohith Vemula or many more Dalits who became instrumental in the fight for justice for millions who have been oppressed by society.
He is an indomitable spirit even up till the last moment of his life when he says “hum aakhiri thode na hain” (We are not the last). These words echoed a perpetual ‘war’ effervescing for decades in our own social backyard, and that still goes on unnoticed. Yet this war against injustice continues despite numerous killings and lynching of innocent lives, and despite voices that do not speak for the cause of justice. To me, all this makes the character of Nishad more powerful and stronger.
Reel and Real Life, And Reality
Nishad is not considered ‘fit’ to be projected as a leading protagonist for our cinema. Why is that? I would say the simple reason is that the so-called ‘civilised’ world we live in seeks to know social reality through the eyes of a ‘modern, urbane, socialised‘ civilian, through the gaze of an IPS officer who may not be aware of this reality or may actually be prescribed to not come closer to this reality, as spelled out by his fellow subordinates when they say “mat ghushiye is daldal mein…nikal nehi paoge” (Don’t enter into this dirt, you won’t be able to come out).
The movie fails to keep Nishad alive, as the filmmaker knows this existing stratified system cannot deliver its just end peacefully and without disturbing the prevailing ‘order’. Justice is impossible. And, upsetting and deconstructing the existing social order is seemingly impossible while being part of the system. Therefore, the protagonist could not be Nishad but had to be Ayan Ranjan. This saves the existing ‘social order’.
Situating the ‘hero’ Ayan Ranjan in a village divided across caste lines, his efforts to resolve its internal politics and carry out the investigation of a gang rape and meeting out its rightful end, holds a typical mainstream view of how ‘social change’ is anticipated only with the help of upper caste people, and the Dalits or the downtrodden ones are always at the receiving end of justice provided by them. Article 15 is therefore not Nishad’s story, but of many ‘Ayan Ranjans’ who are ignorant and oblivious to deep-rooted caste politics that run through our veins for decades, yet who are still shocked and surprised about lives led by these communities and the atrocities borne out by them.
Here, Ayan Ranjan offers solutions by still keeping normative values intact and sacrosanct. Ayan seems to represent the ‘benevolent benefactor’ system that awakens from a deep slumber of injustice it has incurred on its people for ages with some momentary relief through legal initiatives but ultimately restores the system without questioning, changing or restructuring the same. By labeling Nishad a villain and his activities as ‘anti-national’, the movie takes a toll on the lives of those who raise their voice against the caste system, or who want to bring social change.
As the mainstream ‘hero’, Ayan overshadows the revolutionary Nishad who meets his tragic death in the hands of the paternalistic state. The movie loses its spirit of justice that comes from the undying struggles of heroes like Dr. Ambedkar and Jyotibha Phule, who always stood for a just society and made it the driving force of their lives.
The movie finds an easy way out in a ‘happy ending’ that suppresses the ‘deviants’, radicals and non-conformists who could at least question the existing order or anyone who dares speak truth to the powerful. Thus the audience is left with a conformist approach towards the social normative system, a system that thrives on wider public consensus.
We Need More Nishads To Confront The Powerful With The Truth
We need alternative forces of resistance represented by many more Nishads who dare stand against the system and make people aware of ‘forbidden truths’ that society has covered for ages. To raise questions of discrimination, displacement, caste atrocities, mob lynchings, communal riots, unequal distribution of resources in society, structural violence, rights of Dalits and other marginalised groups, we need many more Nishads.
Therefore, it’s time that the protagonist of the story is reversed and adored not only in the real world but also in the reel world. The need of the hour is to reiterate the stories of forgotten heroes and reconfirm constitutional values. It is only then, I am sure, that we will be able to save a fast degenerating society.