Pathaan movie: Delhi High Court directs Yashraj Films to add subtitles, audio description to enable hearing, visually impaired to enjoy film

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Yashraj Films to prepare subtitles, close captioning and audio description in Hindi for its movie Pathaan and submit the same with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) again for re-certification so that it can be enjoyed by hearing and visually impaired people on Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms..Single-judge Justice Prathiba M Singh ordered the producers to submit these details by February 20 and directed the CBFC to take a decision by March 10.However, the Court refused to pass any directions with respect to Pathaan's screening in theaters noting that the movie is set to be released on Jan 25. The Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer movie will stream on Amazon Prime Video in April and therefore, the judge said that the producers can make the required changes by then. .The court was dealing with a petition filed by a group of lawyers, law student and hearing and visually impaired people. It sought a direction to Yashraj, OTT platforms and government to make arrangements so that Pathaan movie and other films can be enjoyed by people with hearing and visual disabilities.Advocate Rahul Bajaj (one of the petitioners) argued that the movie Pathaan does not make available audio description or close captioning which would be integral for the people with hearing and visual disabilities to enjoy the film. He said that even the subtitle for the movie is in English and not the language of the film, Hindi. Bajaj further said that though the authorities have issued guidelines on the matter, they have not been implemented and, therefore, a large number of film producers do not date care to provide these facilities. .Advocate Abhishek Malhotra appeared for Yashraj and stated that in principle, the producers' stand is that they will make the required changes in a reasonable manner so that the movie can be enjoyed by all. .After considering the arguments, Justice Singh observed that the petition raises very important issue about accessibility of entertainment for the visually and hearing impaired people and authorities have an obligation to ensure that content is available for them in accessible formats. The judge said that in context of films, special measure will have to be taken so that the experience of watching movies in a theater is not denied to persons with disabilities.Justice Singh further noted that the technologies for the same are clearly available and several films like Dangal, Munnabhai MBBS and Black have been released with those features. Therefore, while refusing to pass any direction in respect of theatrical release of Pathaan, the Court said that it will consider the larger issue involved. It impleaded and issued notices to the Film Producers' Association (FPA) and Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) and Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology (MEITY) and directed them to file their responses to the plea by February 28. .The Court also directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Department of Person with Disabilities to submit their response on the matter. The case will be heard next on April 6.