Screening Difference: Charting the Evolving Representation of Disability in Bollywood Cinema

Abstract

The sociocultural construction of disability through visual representation is compelling, and the present study is based on the Bollywood representation of disability on screen. Disability studies have emerged as an essential area of research in the twenty-first century. It has evolved beyond the narrow definition of a medical problem to one of social and cultural concern. As a critical discourse, it has borrowed extensively from gender and cultural studies and psychology. Films are part of visual culture and have an essential role in shaping the sensibilities of society on various issues. Many critics have observed that disability is used as a critical component in storytelling. The Bollywood industry has picturised disability since the 1970s and has come a long way in depicting disability in newer lights. However, despite this progress, a key research problem arises: how and why do these representational shifts occur, and what ideological work do they perform in shaping public consciousness? This change in the trend is briefly studied in this paper using representational and popular movies like Taare Zameen Par, Black, My Name Is Khan, Barfi, Hichki and Paa.