Representation of Women with Disabilities in Popular Hindi Cinema: A Study

Abstract

India is home to around 1.18 crore women with disabilities, according to the Census of India, 2011. They are being discriminated in socio-economic and political participation. A woman with disability is doubly discriminated in rural regions. Their right to have sex and reproduction has been grossly denied, indicating human rights violations. Their social and economic participation is grossly undermined. In this context, the role of Hindi popular cinema is of paramount importance to address their issues. Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood, is one of the biggest industries in the world. Many of the Hindi popular cinemas are being globally consumed. The current qualitative study attempted to understand the nature of representation of women with disabilities in Bollywood from Koshish to Margarita with a Straw. The study covered the aspects of models of disability, socio-economic participation, right to sex and reproduction while analysing the films.