Film producers’ associations had earlier this year withdrawn accessibility guidelines proposed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to make cinema halls more accessible to the visually and hearing impaired. In a summary of responses from producer associations, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which engaged with producers on the issue at the request of the ministry, the producers’ body appears to be opposing accessibility features like Mirror-enabled closed captioning and headphones. Have been. Audio description.

In January, the I&B Ministry had released a draft of “Guidelines on Accessibility Standards in Public Exhibition of Feature Films in Cinema Theaters for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment” and invited comments from the industry and general public. The draft was the long-delayed implementation of a part of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Although the guidelines would have ensured better access to cinema for the visually impaired and hearing impaired, producers pushed back, arguing that it would be too difficult to do. expensive.

The Film Federation of India, which forms the committee that selects the film to represent India at the Academy Awards each year, said that “the additional cost of creating separate versions of films for the general public and disabled audiences comes,” and the draft guidelines “burden producers, especially those with small budgets.”

Similar concerns over cost were also raised by Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, Indian Motion Picture Producers Association, South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, Kannada Film Producers Association, Western India Film and TV Producers Association and some exhibitors. ,

The draft suggested “closed captioning smart glasses”, “closed caption display at the bottom of the screen” and other such technologies. PVR Inox Ltd said it would welcome the launch of an app that would play on cinema-goers’ phones, but said studios and distributors would have to take the lead in sending audio description tracks that would play on these apps for visually impaired viewers. , and rejected other proposals citing infrastructure costs.

The Bengaluru-based Association of People with Disability, in its response, said the guidelines should also include hearing-impaired moviegoers, who should be able to book seats closer to the speakers, and the presence of Braille signs and tactile pathways in theatres. Needed The Sanket Foundation, which works with deaf and hard-of-hearing people, said a quarter of all shows in theaters should play with closed captioning. “Films stop showing subtitles after the second week,” the nonprofit’s filing states.

While the industry has rejected the I&B ministry’s proposals, the Delhi High Court in March took a tough stance and ordered the government to finalize and notify the guidelines by July 15. “It is clarified that the said guidelines will provide mandatory and reasonable period to the accessibility facilities for compliance in an expeditious manner by all stakeholders,” Justice Prathiba Singh had ordered.