Delhi High Court directive to 'Pathaan' may make others follow suit

More content creators could now get sensitive to making entertainment inclusive

The order of the Delhi High Court on Monday directing Yash Raj Films, the makers of the movie Pathaan, to add audio descriptions and close captions for differently abled people, may get a wider following, according to film experts.
 

The court has asked for the additions to be made for the over-the-top (OTT) release of Pathaan, which is slated in April on Amazon Prime Video. The movie will release in theatres on January 25, marking the return of Shah Rukh Khan to the big screen after a gap of five years.
 

It is also the first big Bollywood release this calendar year.
 

“I think more film-makers and content creators would now be sensitive to the need to have inclusive entertainment content,” said Kunaal Prasad, chief executive officer (CEO) and founder of Gurugram-based Brajma Intelligent Systems, which has an audio app called XL Cinema, which enables users to listen to the audio track of a film in multiple languages.
 

The app typically works in theatres. The ambient sounds of a film are picked up by the app on the mobile phone of  the user. These sounds are relayed as audio cues to the user, who can pick up the audio track via his or her ear phones plugged to the mobile. The app has seen 60,000 downloads in the past few years, mainly by persons with disabilities, said Prasad.
 

Brajma is also integrating the XL Cinema feature with the mobile app of theatre chains such as PVR to aid the movie-viewing experience for differently-abled people. The company is also talking to more theatre chains, ticket-booking platforms and production houses for inclusive entertainment content. The key challenge, of course, is the cost, which works out to Rs 2.5-3 lakh per film, said Prasad, for audio descriptions, which implies that film-makers would look to try out the feature with big-budget films rather than films with a limited production budget.
 

Emails sent to Yash Raj Films as well as Amazon Prime Video on the issue elicited no response till the time of going to press. But an official at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which is a respondent in the Delhi High Court matter, said the ministry was studying the judgment.
 

“The Digital Media Ethics Code and Intermediary Guidelines, which are part of the Amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, provides for accessible content to be made available on digital platforms. Part III of the guidelines stipulates that publishers should endeavour to improve access by implementing appropriate access services. I am not sure therefore whether a separate set of guidelines is needed since it is part of the Digital Media Ethics Code,” the official said.
 

OTT platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have audio descriptions and closed captions for their original content. This is available in multiple markets including India, said industry executives in the know. However, for content that is acquired such as films, the service is not available yet in markets such as India, say cine experts.
 

According to legal experts, Sections 42 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, states all electronic content should be accessible and should focus on inclusion.
 

“There is a gap in this area and it would require some direction from the court to make it applicable generally or to direct the authorities concerned to act in consonance with the RPWD Act,” said Abhinay Sharma, managing partner at law firm Delhi-based ASL Partners.
 

Meghna Mishra, partner at Delhi-based law firm Karanjawala & Co, however, is optimistic about the outcome of the Delhi High Court order on the film fraternity.
 

She said: “This case may well have set a precedent that could be path-breaking and a welcome move for the crores of disabled persons who have been denied the ability to enjoy movies in the manner they are entitled to. Any further

steps taken by the government in this direction would be welcome, especially keeping in mind that India is home to 20 per cent of the world’s blind population. According to World Health Organization estimates, 6.3 per cent of the Indian population suffer from some auditory impairment.”
 

Kritika Seth, founding partner at Mumbai-based law firm Victoriam Legalis, has a divergent view.
 

She said that while the lack of inclusion of persons with disabilities when it came to making content accessible would amount to a violation of Section 42 of the RPWD Act, 2016, it was difficult to control individual content creators and art works.
 

“Authorities have almost minimal control over individual artwork. The RPWD Act does not define the words ‘art’ and ‘artwork’, leaving uncertainty for artists as to whether their artwork is within the purview of the provisions specified in the Act,” she said.