Article 15 has overtaken Shubh Mangal Saavdhan to emerge as Ayushmann Khurrana’s second-biggest opener of all the time. The film earned Rs 5.02 crore on Friday, amidst strong competition from Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh, which released last week. Badhaai Ho, a 2018 comedy directed by Amit Sharma, remains Ayushmann’s biggest opener till date (Rs 7.35 crore).

Article 15 is helmed by Mulk-director Anubhav Sinha. The film looks at caste violence and institutional fallacies in small-town Uttar Pradesh. The title alludes to the Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth. The events in the film are inspired by the 2014 Badaun gang rape and murder case, wherein two teenage girls were found hanging from a tree in a village in Uttar Pradesh.

On the day of release, several religious groups were reported to hold protests against the film. As per reports, the Brahman Samaj of India has filed a plea in the Supreme Court contending that the film is likely to damage public perception about Article 15 of the Constitution. The petitioners have also accused the film of using casteist slurs and spreading hatred. The makers, meanwhile, have maintained that the film is not intended to hurt anyone's sentiments.