Director Anubhav Sinha whose latest release Thappad starring Taapsee Pannu is receiving rave reviews, opened up on his last film Article 15 saying that it was a compromised version. Article 15 featured Ayushmann Khurrana in the lead and was one of the better films of last year. In an interview with an eminent film journalist, Sinha said that he added some ‘cheese’ to his story to make it more massy in approach.
When asked about the ‘cheese’ he adds in his film to make them more mainstream, Anubhav said, “Cheese is a very thin layer of certain compromises you make to make it more palatable. I wouldn’t make Mulk or Article 15 if it did not penetrate into the next layer. There’s no point in Anupama liking Article 15 and the people not liking it.”
A still from film Article 15
Speaking about one particular moment in Article 15 where he still feels conflicted, Anubhav said, “That shot of the upper caste hero, walking with the Dalit girl in his arms, according to me, was a compromise, which I had to make. Creating a hero allowed me to say a whole lot more in the film.” He was referring to the scene where Ayushmann’s police character rescues the kidnapped girl and lifts her in his arms. At the time of release, the film was met with a lot of criticism over the upper caste man as hero.
Elaborating further he said, “A lot of people did have a problem with the gaze of the film, and I agree with them. I don’t disagree with them. But that allowed the film to reach out to 70-80 lakh people in theatres and add so much more on OTT.” He said that his decision to not make the character a sole hero but have him surrounded by a team was his way of making a compromise.
(Source: Film Companion)
