Khan’s message for special kids
Actor sent out a video message for disabled children at film fest
Bollywood star Salman Khan, on Tuesday, sent a special video message to disabled children who watched his latest film Bajrangi Bhaijaan at the first International Film Festival for Persons with Disabilities (IFFPWD), saying that despite all odds, the disabled should be provided all facilities at theatres.
Though Khan, who is currently busy shooting for Sultan, was not able to attend the screening, Bajrangi Bhaijaan director Kabir Khan and child actress Harshaali Malhotra, who played the role of deaf and mute girl Munni, were present at the venue.
In the video message, the Dabangg actor said, “Cinema, movies or entertainment are a big part of Indian culture, but I don’t see differently-abled getting a chance to view films in theatres as most of them don’t have wheelchairs and other facilities.”
During a question-answer session, Kabir said that while he was making ,he never thought of focusing on the issue of disabled people, but in the whole film, everyone treated Munni like a normal person.”
“The important thing that we wanted to show was that everyone forgets that Munni is disabled, we wanted to bring in that dignity and spirit of [a] normal person in her and treat her like [a] normal, regular person,” Kabir said.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which released on July 17 and collected more than Rs6 billion (Dh330 million) at the box office, also starred Kareena Kapoor Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
The three-day festival, organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPWD) under the social justice and empowerment ministry in collaboration with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), started with the screening of Marathi film Yellow on Tuesday at the Siri Fort auditorium.
The festival will screen 40 Indian-language and international films, including 16 short films, 14 documentaries and 10 features (seven fiction and three documentary films). It ends today.