A law student, two lawyers and a disability rights activist moved the plea to Delhi High court seeking the enforcement of numerous rights and accessibility requirements as prescribed under the 2016 Act. The court reportedly stated that inclusion of audio details and other measures for theatrical release cannot be approved at this stage.
However, it passed orders with respect to the release of the film on Prime Video in April, directing the CBFC to take up re-certification of the same by March 10 after the producer comes with subtitles. As per The Bar & Bench, the court ordered to have Hindi subtitles, closed captions, including audio description for the OTT release of film for assisting those with visual and hearing impairments. The movie has to be sent again to the CBFC for re-certification before it streams on Prime Video on April 25 as per reports.
A single-judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh stated, “The present writ petition raises very important issues as to access of entertainment to the hearing and visually impaired persons. Under Section 42 of the RPWD Act 2016, 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, most importantly, special measures would have to be taken for hearing and visually impaired persons, as the experience of watching a film in a movie theatre cannot be denied to such persons.”
“Insofar as OTT release for ‘Pathaan’ is concerned, it is directed that the producer shall prepare the audio description, subtitles in Hindi language and closed captions and submit the same to CBFC for approval. Upon the same being submitted, the CBFC shall consider re-certification of the film along with subtitles in Hindi, audio description and closed captioning in Hindi,” the court directed.
Meanwhile, the movie directed by Siddharth Anand is set to release on January 25, 2023 starring SRK, Deepika.
