Arrived at an event to promote the World Television Premiere of their recently launched film Article 15, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha was here with actor Sayani Gupta at the Shiv Nadar School in Noida on Monday. Taking the opportunity, both Sinha and Gupta interacted with students on the topic of discrimination and how one can make a conscious attempt to #BurnTheBhedBhaav – an initiative being pushed forward by &pictures – in the society in today’s age and time.
Sinha said, “When I was a kid, I realized that people were judged by their surname. I felt it wasn’t fair and hence I have used the movie to elucidate a problem and get people to address it. According to me, Article 15 is one article of the Indian Constitution in particular, which is long forgotten, and I wanted everyone to find out about it and talk about it. That’s why I kept the shot lingering on what Article 15 says in the film, just before the interval.”
Commenting on the #BurnTheBhedBhaav drive, Sayani Gupta said, “The century long practice of the Hindu Brahmanical caste based hierarchical status quo is something that has made me uncomfortable always and hence I jumped at the opportunity to portray a Dalit girl on screen. We need representation of Dalit politics in the mainstream narrative. Today, when people are going to Mars and have invented nanotechnology, it’s bizarre that people are getting killed, raped and discriminated against only because they supposedly belong to a ‘menial’ caste.”
She added, “Humans are still being used to clean manholes without any kind of protection and we as society have become so okay with other people cleaning out faeces. Any kind of discrimination based on gender, class, date, religion, language, colour economic condition should be strongly criticised and it’s time to stipe looking away and take a clear stand. I am pleased to be associated with #BurnTheBhedBhaav initiative and to take a stand against discrimination. With this positive step towards influencing school children and young minds I hope this malpractice is completely eradicated from our society.”
Adding his views to the initiative Col. Gopal Karunakaran, CEO, Shiv Nadar School said, “At Shiv Nadar School, we put emphasis on teaching students mutual respect for fellow human beings and viewing the entire humanity as one big family. We as an educational institution are therefore delighted to participate in the campaign. It will help strengthen the core values of equality and dignity among our students and encourage them to resist discrimination of all types in the society.” The movie, which underlines the stark contrast between the high and low castes in the remotest parts of India, will be premiered on &pictures on Saturday, 19th October at 8 pm.
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