Brahmin Groups Protest Against Article 15 Outside Kanpur Theatres

The protests led to the film being cancelled in cinema halls.

Members of different Brahmin organisations held protests outside cinema halls in Kanpur against the release of Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Article 15. “The protest led to the screening of the film getting cancelled in all cinema halls, including Z-square mall. As soon as the screening started, situation outside the cinema halls and the mall became tensed,” Superintendent of Police (East) Raj Kumar Agarwal told PTI.

Members of various Brahmin organisations like Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Ekta Parishad, Sarva Brahmin Mahasabha, Parshuram Sarva Kalyan and Brahmin Mahasabha raised slogans against the actors and the producer of the film and tore off film posters, the SP added.

He also added that heavy police force has been deployed in and around the mall and other cinema halls in the state.

Earlier also, the film had earned the ire of Parshuram Sena, a Brahmin outfit from UP. The makers of Article 15 had also been threatened by the Karni Sena, the same group that protested the release of Deepika-Ranveer starrer Padmaavat in 2018.

The Karni Sena along with another outfit that calls itself the Brahman Mahasabha held a press conference on 24 June saying demanding that the film is ‘banned’. A member of the Brahman Mahasabha said, “Ban this film leave Brahmins alone, remove our name from the film. Brahmins have always been shown in a bad light.” He added, “There so many mistakes in the film, they are showing that the crime has happened with a Dalit but in reality it was with someone from the OBC category.”

He also mentioned that they have given Anubhav Sinha, the director of Article 15, an ultimatum.

However, director Anubhav Sinha had responded to the threats by admitting that plenty of Brahmins have worked on the film, hence it cannot be anti-Brahmin. He also pleaded for the group to accept the CBFC’s approval and let the movie release. “Why would I make an anti-Brahmin film? People are smart enough to know that there were enough and more Brahmins associated with the making of the film to know [that it doesn’t showcase them in bad light],” the director said.

(Inputs: PTI)