The Airtel’s advertisement campaign around “Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota hai” was amongst the last few mass media content which celebrated Diversity. And, at the same time the least inclusive to find a friend with disability. The quest for camaraderie in the popular content must have started long ago with “Thakur” from the movie “Sholay” trying to find men who could be trusted.
A look back into the movie released in 1975; one of the biggest hits the country had ever witnessed, raised questions which are even relevant in today’s context. One, certainly being persons with disabilities being empowered enough to be employers when the majority themselves do not have access to employment.
And, another being, that like the protagonists, persons with disabilities still need to think beyond hundreds of their own people, to find trustworthy relationships.
The issue is deep-rooted and it depicts in our approach, behaviour and ethics towards marginalised communities; disability being one of them. The portrayal of disability has majorly involved mockery like in the film Zero (2018) for slapstick humour, stereotypical professional association with lens of charity in films like Dosti (1964) or heroic ableism in case of Kaabil (2017).
“The perceptions and opinions the people build about social issues that surround our society are largely, if not completely, governed by the way they are portrayed through method acting” said the report: Social Impact of India Cinema, authored by Geetanjali Chandra and published in 2019.
It was the concerns over blasphemy back in 1968 which led to the constitution of G.D. Khosla Committee over censorship in Indian Cinematograph Act 1952 and concluded for responsible functioning of film certification process as quoted:
“Censorship should be exercised not by a department of the state whose decisions are subject to revision, appeal or interference by the government, but by an independent body which has been given sufficient authority and a sufficient sense of responsibility to deal with the matter finally and irrevocably”.
The sense of the very same responsibility seems compelled again when popular content for ages has been lacking sensitivity towards non-discriminatory content creation. It is in contrast with its own progressive guiding principle of film certification which ensures non-depiction of abuse or ridicule of physically and mentally disabled persons.
In addition, the definition of disability in guiding principles is not aligned with the Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, to protect equality and non-discrimination by refraining from the use of terminology like handicapped and recognition of 21 disabilities.
The time is right for the Central Board of Film Certification to resonate with the progress we have made in the generation of accessible media content with the ongoing “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” campaign.
Likewise, the amendment in guiding principles of Film Certification will in itself ensure responsible content development which is accessible as per the Intermediary guidelines and Digital Media ethics code 2021 and non-discriminatory for persons with disability.
The ongoing OTT revolution during the pandemic with growing outreach of active internet users to the tune of 227 million users, as per a report in 2020 by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and Nielsen and the recent rollout of 5G services possess a market potential beyond mere figures, to change the perception of the nation around disability.
It is indeed the voice of the nation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out aptly in a meeting with the law ministers and law secretaries on October 15, 2022, for framing laws with an expiry date.