The High Court has asked the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to consult the producers of ‘Jawan’ to see if the movie featuring Shah Rukh Khan could be uploaded on OTT platforms with accessibility features for individuals with disabilities. The court’s December 22 order came on a plea by a visually impaired person, Akshat Baldwa, seeking the incorporation of features, such as audio descriptions, subtitles, and closed captions, for the feature films ‘Jawan’ and ‘Hi Papa’ in theatres as well as on the OTT platforms.
The High Court had, while hearing a similar petition by Mr. Baldwa, passed an order in January this year, following which another Shah Rukh Khan movie — ‘Pathaan’ — was released with accessibility features on OTT platforms. In the January order, the court had said the government has “an obligation to take measures to ensure that all content is available in formats accessible to persons with disabilities” as per provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, adding that the experience of watching a movie in a theatre could not be denied to persons with disabilities.
Section 42 of the RPWD Act states that the “government shall take measures to ensure that all contents available in audio, print, and electronic media” are accessible to people with disabilities. It also says that persons with disabilities must have access to electronic media in the form of audio description, sign language interpretation, and close captioning.
In October 2019, the I&B Ministry had issued directions to the Film Producers Association and the Central Board of Film Certification, stating all feature films must have audio descriptions, subtitles, and closed captions.
In his recent petition, Mr. Baldwa said that in some countries, theatres provide headphones through which scenes are relayed in an audio format. However, in India, such facilities are not available in most film theatres.
Rahul Bajaj, Mr. Baldwa’s counsel, said several Bollywood films, such as ‘Dangal’, ‘Black’, and ‘Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.’, had incorporated audio descriptions, subtitles, and closed captions for persons with hearing and visual impairments.
