That's an excellent piece of review. Congratulations and all the ery best. Have shared it on my facebook and twitter. The film is a commercial one and we should not expect reality bytes from it. However, it is a very nice and thrilling story quite well presented. It will surely go a long way for the cause of awareness.
Thanks and regards, Dr. Aruni Sharma. Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, JNPG College, Lucknow, India. twitter: www.twitter.com/arunisharma facebook: www.facebook.com/arunisharma Skype: [email protected] On 6 February 2017 at 02:52, nidhi goyal <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi friends > > sharing my reaction to Kabil- published in scroll > > https://thereel.scroll.in/828490/bollywood-heroes- > always-win-so-why-should-k > aabil-be-any-different > > > > Bollywood heroes always win, so why should 'Kaabil' be any different? > > The Hrithik Roshan starrer goes a long way in normalising disability in the > movies. > > by Nidhi Goyal > > Published 13 hours ago. > > Image credit: FilmKraft > > A man and a woman fall in love, get married, and are living happily ever > after. until the villain intervenes and harasses the woman. She dies and > the > man avenges her death. This could be the story of any Bollywood film. But > millions of blind persons in India finally sat up on January 25, 2017, and > said hmm, here are characters and a story that we relate to - and, you know > what, it is absolutely "normal". > > I am talking about Sanjay Gupta's Kaabil, where both leads are blind. This > film is not special to me as a blind woman and a disability rights activist > only because of the stunning Hrithik Roshan and his sweet character Rohan > Bhatnagar, but because the film is not about disability. We have seen films > like Taare Zameen Par and Margarita With a Strawthat have been issue-based > or educational. Just as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham have affluent protagonists > who provide the context to the plot, similarly Kaabil has blind > protagonists. "Normalising" disability in cinema - that is what Kaabil > does. > > Critics are sure that the movie is gender insensitive - which is only the > problem of Kaabil but almost all of Bollywood. They further say that that > Roshan has been portrayed as a superhero fighting off all the villains who > harmed his wife Supriya (Yami Gautam), but does that really have anything > to > do with the disability? If Bollywood is known for heroes who always win at > the end, why should it be different if the hero is blind? > > Rather than using disability to gain sympathy and pity, the movie reflects > the research invested in its making and the casually inserted nuanced > moments. You would know this as soon as the film opens with a scene of the > lead actor cooking. It was fantastic to watch a blind man dealing with > rupee > notes and correcting the autorickshaw driver when he tries to cheat him. It > was also fun to see that the blind man knew how to ride a bicycle. > > And it is definitely a no-brainer when he gifts a watch to his future wife. > These sequences actually question what most people shockingly don't know > about visually impaired persons. To add to this, the beautiful energy of > the > blind couple dancing is a recreational activity not commonly associated > with > disability - the fact that two blind individuals are confident, > independent, > and considering romance and marriage was probably an eye opener for most. > > Play > > The Mon Amour song from Kaabil. > > When the trailer was out, alarm bells began ringing for me, particularly > when I heard the dialogue "Negative aur negative positive toh nahi ho > sakte" > and "Andhera andhere ko ujala toh nahi de sakta". These are typical > statements made by lay persons who know nothing about living with > disability. These are unsaid assumptions around love and relationships that > society makes and that seep into the subconscious minds of people with > disabilities. > > Thus in real or reel life, the discussion around potential dating partners > for someone disabled is reduced to the disability and not how wonderful or > not the person is. Showing people with disabilities to be incomplete and > hopelessly dependent, particularly in relationships, has been the forte of > Indian cinema. > > The trailer suggested that Kaabil was no different. But Rohan helps Supriya > deal with this incorrect assumption and experience a different reality of > equal love. > > The film is not all hunky dory, and is punctuated with ignorance and > stigma. > Rohan's close friend says that he has heard that love is blind, but he > doesn't know that the blind also love. These lines, though said in jest, > highlight important issues faced by disabled people. The popular idea is > that disability reduces us to something less than complete, and that love, > romance and sex will never be on our minds with the struggles and survival > issues that we face. > > Kaabil also subtly echoes questions that perhaps many people imagine and > want to raise. This is particularly in the area of sex and sexuality. The > film very beautifully dispels such misconceptions when it answers the > ignorant questions posed by the villains who wonder about Rohan and > Supriya's wedding night, "How would these blind people be doing it?" This > statement is juxtaposed with a lovemaking scene. > > Play > > Kaabil. > > Yes, Supriya is at greater risk because of her blindness, but the issues > portrayed in the film were very real for disabled women who are raped by > someone who has money, power, and other privileges. The corruption of the > police, the difficulties in giving evidence, and the helplessness of a > middle-class couple were heart-wrenching and true. > > We could complain that Kaabil didn't attempt to have blind/visually > impaired > actors or show the amazing assistive technology that blind persons use. But > after sitting through blockbusters that have heroes pull out their > intravenous support lines in hospital and jump straight into action, it > would be unfair to expect Kaabil to be perfect! The only real complaint is > that a film about blind persons is not accessible to them. It would have > been great for Kaabil to have thought of audio descriptions and accessible > cinema. > > I grew up watching Bollywood films that told me there were no equal > relationships for someone like me or that no interesting man - disabled or > not - would chose to be with a disabled woman out of attraction and love. > But a film like Kaabil makes me happy for the young disabled teenagers who > see themselves being accepted and celebrated in mainstream cinema. Never > mind the fact that Rohan Bhatnagar kindled the teenaged celebrity crush on > the actor for me. > > Nidhi Goyal is an activist working on disability rights and gender justice. > Being disabled herself, she works at the intersection of disability and > gender through research, training, advocacy, and art. Follow her > @saysnidhigoyal. > > > > Regards, > > Nidhi Goyal > > activist: disability rights and gender justice > > I tweet: @saysnidhigoyal > > > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile. > accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
