Is Bollywood upto the mark when representing the specially-abled?
Representation of specially-abled on screen hasn’t had an impeccable track record. Be it Hrithik Roshan playing a visually-impaired man in Kaabil (2017) or Shah Rukh Khan essaying the role of a dwarf in Zero (2018), many films have had protagonists with special abilities. Today, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we ask actors, filmmakers their take on portrayal of specially-abled.
Director Shonali Bose, whose film Margarita With a Straw (2014) saw Kalki Koechlin play a person with cerebral palsy, says, “We had beautiful films like Sparsh (1980) and Khamoshi: The Musical (1996). We can’t put a blanket statement ki pehle galat tha. Look at Zero, for instance. The way cerebral palsy (was shown) was really unfortunate. Margarita… was a rare film. The character wasn’t put on a pedestal, nor did we pity her.” Echoing her views is Sayani Gupta, who played a visually-challenged character in Bose’s film. “You see very bad representation mostly, carelessly done. There has to be a lot of research, practice, workshops,” the actor says.
Lack of financial support is something the industry finds a hurdle when making such films. “There are hardly any government-funded films (here). Having said that, it’s not easy. People can take advantage of funding, so there should be a proper panel to judge and approve a script,” says director Anurag Basu, whose films Barfi! (2012) and Jagga Jasoos (2017) saw actor Ranbir
Kapoor play an aurally, verbally-challenged man and a stammering detective, respectively.
Shreyas Talpade, however, feels things have changed. The actor who, in his debut Iqbal (2005), played an aurally, verbally-challenged cricketer, says, “Earlier, they felt they were being mocked. You have to understand, we make stories which are fictional. We don’t have to be insensitive, but we shouldn’t be sensitive and take everything personally.”
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