Cinematic Representation of Disability from Pity to Human Rights in India: Investigating the Changing Roots and Routes

Abstract

India is a home to the disabled. However, they have been subjected to socio-economic, cultural, and political deprivations despite guaranteed constitutional rights. Disabilities are the synonyms to challenges. The models of disability—pity, charity, medical, social, and human rights—are the parameters, which signal the positioning of a given society on the subject of disability. Since its inception, cinema has been a medium to send social messages from time to time. Moreover, it has been deeply embedded with society and occupied a prominent space in the realm of art and culture. Since the issues of the disabled remain perennial, deliberating the roots of the community has become worthy. Usually, cinema as a route for building disability identity and socio-cultural regeneration raises umpteen debates across the society. The chapter attempts to make the readers understand the roots of disability and the routes of cinematic representations for disability culture and socio-cultural regeneration through various models of disability.