Pathaan Movie: Delhi High Court Directs Yash Raj Films To Prepare Audio Description, Subtitles For Hearing & Visually Impaired People

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Yash Raj Films to prepare audio description, close captioning and subtitles in Hindi language for the OTT release of its upcoming movie Pathaan to make it accessible for hearing and visually impaired persons.

The movie is scheduled to be released in theatres on January 25 and will be screened on Amazon Prime later in April.

Justice Prathiba M Singh directed the producer Yash Raj Films to prepare audio description, close captioning and subtitles of the movie within two weeks and submit it to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for a decision on re-certification by February 20. The court directed that a decision on recertification of the film be taken by March 10.

The court was hearing a plea seeking direction to make captions in the movie accessible for visually and hearing impaired persons. It sought inclusion of audio description, close captioning and subtitles in the film in consonance with the rights of persons with disabilities.

The plea was moved by various PwDs, including a law student, lawyers and Executive Director of the National Association for the Deaf, seeking enforcement of various rights and accessibility requirements as prescribed under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The case of the petitioners was that though various rights have been recognized for persons with disabilities and under the 2016 Act, films released in India are not catering to the needs of the disabled.

Rahul Bajaj, one of the petitioners appearing in person, submitted that the film Pathaan will not not make available audio description and closed captioning, which, he said, is integral for enjoyment of films by persons with disabilities.

He submitted that while subtitles having been approved by the CBFC, the audio description and the closed captioning have not been made available and that even subtitling has been made only in English language and not in the language of the movie. He said that this makes it almost impossible for hearing and visually impaired persons to enjoy the film.

The petitioners also sought directions on the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment to notify required standards in this regard.

Bajaj submitted that though certain guidelines have been issued in the past, the same have not been implemented and there are no sanctions for non compliance. Thus, as per him, a large number of films do not take care to provide these facilities for disabled persons.

On a query from the court as to how a visually impaired person would be able to enjoy things in a theatre, Bajaj responded that in certain foreign countries, theaters themselves make provision for headphones to be plugged into a seat through which the audio description, subtitle or closed captioning is relayed in an audio format. However, he added that no such facilities are available in India in most film theatres.

He submitted that despite the said position, persons with visual impairment can enjoy audio description of the films through applications which can be downloaded on smartphones, so long as the producer has an arrangement with the application.

He submitted that two applications are presently offering such services in India.

On the other hand, the counsel appearing for the producer Yash Raj Films submitted that the film has already been approved by the CBFC and that at the time of approval, subtitles were already submitted in English language.

The court was told that the producer would be willing to take any steps which may be required in a reasonable manner to ensure that its films are enjoyed by the hearing and visually impaired persons as well.

On behalf of the Central Government, it was pointed out that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had issued certain directions in October 2019 to film producers associations and CBFC to use audio description and closed captioning in all films.

The counsel sought time to obtain instructions as to the actual status of the said guidelines and directions which have been issued and their implementation.

Noting that the petition raises “very important issues” as to accessibility of entertainment to the hearing and visually impaired persons, the court said that as per Section 42 of RPwD Act, the government has an obligation to take measures to ensure that all content is available in accessible formats for persons with disabilities.

“In the context of films ... special measures would have to be taken for the hearing and visually impaired persons inasmuch as the experience of watching a film in the movie theatre cannot be denied to such persons,” the court said.

Justice Singh also impleaded the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation, Film Producers Association and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as respondents in the matter.

Issuing notice to the respondents, the court said they shall place their stands on or before February 28..

“In the meantime, insofar as the theatrical show exhibition of the film, if the producer wishes to do so, they may contact the app providers to explore the possibility of providing audio description and subtitling to be done for future films,” the court said while listing the matter for hearing on April 6.

Title: AKSHAT BALDWA & ORS. v. YASH RAJ FILMS

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 48