When you go back to your homes today, think if you have been a part of any sort of discrimination in your daily life. If you have ever cringed at the thought sharing a meal with a person who is not from your caste, it’s time to stop it. This Diwali resolve to #BurnTheBhedBhaav.
This is what Bollywood director Anubhav Sinha had to say to the students, though in not as many words.
Speaking to students at the Shiv Nadar School in Noida, Sinha recollected many instances in his life wherein he saw people being discriminated against on basis of their caste or economic status. Memories of those instances and the disturbing fact that this sort of discrimination is still practiced in our society prompted him to make the much-acclaimed film Article 15. “The film is inspired by true life incidents like the 2014 Badaun gang rape and 2016 Una flogging,” said Sinha, an engineer by qualification who forayed into filmmaking for the sheer love of it.
Actor Sayani Gupta, who plays the role of Gaura in the film, also interacted with the students.
Sinha and Gupta visited the school as a part of the #BurnTheBhedhBhaav campaign launched by &Pictures, ahead of the World Television Premiere of Article 15, a film that focusses on Article 15 of the Indian Constitution that prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
“I have been seeing this sort of discrimination since I was your age, but sadly, it has not stopped till date. What’s worst is that discrimination has been normalised. People don’t talk about it. I want people to begin questioning it,” said Sinha to students, explaining the reason why he made the film. “Cinema has the power the reach out to people effectively. We want young minds to begin talking about the discrimination that happens around us and take steps to stop it,” added Gupta.
Why school?
Well, because people here are at an age when perceptions are made and values ingrained. Today’s children are the adults of tomorrow and good values now ingrained will help make a free and fair society in future, felt Sinha. “Don’t get desensitised to wrongs around you. Start questioning them. You can begin by standing up against bullying in school,” said Gupta. “When you do something with true intent and when you have truth on your side, you win,” she added.
Happy to be a part of the #BurnTheBhedBhaav campaign, Col (Retd) Gopal Karunakaran, CEO, Shiv Nadar School, said, “Our Constitution grants the right to live with equality and dignityto all, yet birth-based social discrimination remains a stark feature of life in many parts of our country. To establish a truly egalitarian society, we need to inculcate these values in children in their formative years when their worldview is getting crystalised.”