Exclusive Anubhav Sinha On His Open Letter to Karni Sena | Article 15

Posted On: 30 June 2019

The director of upcoming film Article 15, Anubhav Sinha has reassured Hindu outfit Karni Sena that his film does not ‘disrespect’ the Brahmin community. He penned a long open letter addressed to ‘all offended from my film’s trailer’ and shared it on Twitter. Written entirely in Hindi, the letter began with a greeting for all Brahmin outfits, including the Karni Sena. He added that there could be no conversation when the outfits “threaten to kill him or rape his sisters and mother”. Sinha wrote that one should not judge a film from its trailer as the trailer is made by stitching together various pieces of the film. He said that a film’s intention is never to disrespect a society and he can vouch for that fact on behalf of all his filmmaker friends. In the second half of his letter, Sinha talked about accusations levelled against his film that it disrespects the Brahmin community. The film is reportedly based on the Badaun rape case and offended outfits are alleging that the culprits’ community has been changed from Yadavs to Mahant (Brahmins). Sinha said that he screened the film for journalists and critics on Monday in Delhi and Mumbai. He called on them to reassure the outfits that the film does not disrespect the Brahmin community. The film received the ‘UA’ certificate after five modifications by the Central Board of Film Certification. According to the official website of CBFC, the film was categorised ‘UA’- unrestricted public exhibition but with parental guidance after the makers submitted a compliance certificate from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and added a voice-over in Hindi in the existing disclaimer before in the beginning of the film. The board suggested a modification in a scene by removing the visual of a flag falling in fire. It replaced a sexually abusive word with another expression and also a derogatory word directed towards parents. The investigative thriller features Ayushmannn Khurrana as a cop, with Sayani Gupta, Kumud Mishra and Manoj Pahwa. It released on June 28.