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There are stories that entertain us, and then there are stories that awaken us.
Every time I watch a film like Taare Zameen Par , Sitare Zameen Par or Srikanth, I’m reminded of how storytelling can become an act of empathy. These aren’t just films about disability — they are mirrors reflecting what inclusion truly means. They remind us that the way we see disability often determines the way society treats it.
And yet, in a world of billions of stories, how many truly give space to the 1.3 billion people living with disabilities?
According to the World Health Organization, nearly one in six people worldwide live with some form of disability. In India, the number is estimated between 50 to 70 million. Still, when you turn on a news channel, scroll through social media, or watch a new film, disability is almost invisible — or worse, misrepresented.
UNESCO’s 2023 report makes this painfully clear: disability-related stories make up less than 2% of global media content, and even within that small space, most portrayals are filtered through charity, pity, or “inspiration.”
Representation, it seems, is still waiting for its rightful voice.
When Representation Becomes Transformation
For decades, media treated disability like a subplot — a tear-jerker, a symbol of moral triumph.
But disability is not a metaphor. It’s a lived, complex, human experience.
A 2022 study by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that only 2.4% of speaking characters in popular films represented disability, and 95% of those roles were played by non-disabled actors. Think about that — we don’t just silence real voices; we let others speak for them.
And this is precisely why stories like CODA (which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022) felt like a revolution. It didn’t romanticize disability; it normalized it. It celebrated a deaf family not as “inspiring,” but as ordinary — which, in truth, is extraordinary.
In India, Taare Zameen Par, Black, Margarita with a Straw, and Srikanth are milestones in a country still learning to tell inclusive stories. Each film reminds us that representation is not just visibility; it’s dignity.
Media’s Moral Compass: From Sympathy to Solidarity
As a media educator, I’ve seen how students respond to stories of inclusion.
When we screen films from film festivals on disability issues something shifts in the room.
Students stop watching as “viewers.” They start feeling as “participants.”
This is what true education should do — not just inform, but transform.
Research by the Harvard Kennedy School shows that exposure to inclusive narratives can increase empathy among young audiences by up to 40%. That’s the kind of power media holds — the power to not only reflect the world but to reshape it.
Yet, our mainstream media coverage still often fails this responsibility.
Instead of stories on accessibility, education, or employment, we see headlines about “differently-abled achievers” who “defy odds.” The tone may sound positive, but the subtext often reinforces difference instead of celebrating equality.
Accessibility Is Not Optional — It’s a Right
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which India ratified in 2007, states that equal access to information and communication is a fundamental right.
And yet, according to the Centre for Internet and Society (2023), only 10% of Indian OTT platforms provide full accessibility — subtitles, sign language, and audio descriptions.
That means 90% of our digital stories still leave someone behind.
We have the technology. What we need now is intention.
Our students — the future storytellers — must learn not only how to shoot, edit, and write, but how to make their work accessible. Accessibility is not charity. It is professionalism. It is ethics.
The World Bank reports that countries investing in inclusive media and education see up to a 7% rise in employment participation of people with disabilities. Inclusion is not just moral — it’s economic and creative progress.
Media Coverage: Between Visibility and Voice
Globally, disability stories still occupy a marginal space in mainstream media. According to UNESCO’s Global Media Monitoring Report (2023), disability-related content represents less than 2% of total media coverage, and nearly 70% of those stories are event-based — focusing on charity drives, award functions, or “inspirational” individuals rather than systemic issues like accessibility, policy gaps, or rights. A BBC Media Action study further revealed that audiences often recall “emotive” disability stories but rarely remember the social message behind them, suggesting that narrative framing remains problematic. In India, the pattern is similar: coverage peaks around International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December) and then drops sharply. A 2019 analysis by the Centre for Disability Studies, Hyderabad, found that out of 5,000 front-page articles across major newspapers, only 12 focused substantively on disability rights or inclusion. Yet, positive shifts are emerging. The We Care Film Festival, supported by UNESCO and the UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan, has brought over 200 films from 40 countries into public conversation, portraying disability through realism rather than rhetoric. Recent Indian films like Srikanth and Taare Zameen Par inspired follow-up news features, interviews, and panel discussions on inclusive education and accessibility. However, the challenge remains: media often amplifies disability as emotion, not as equity. To move forward, journalism must replace the “heroic overcoming” narrative with stories of everyday agency, policy reform, and authentic lived experience.
The Future of Disability Communication
The next frontier is digital inclusion.
Artificial intelligence, captioning tools, and voice-based assistive technologies are reshaping how media can reach everyone.
Imagine a newsroom where AI generates instant subtitles, a podcast that automatically adds sign language, or a film streaming platform that narrates for the visually impaired.
The possibilities are real — if we care enough to use them.
Global leaders like BBC, Netflix, and Microsoft have begun this journey. India’s growing media-technology ecosystem must follow suit — and perhaps, lead.
Across the world, conversations about disability and inclusion are finally entering mainstream media spaces, but progress remains uneven and incomplete. UNESCO’s 2024 report “Persons with Disabilities: Changes Needed in Media Now” highlights that less than 2% of all media coverage globally focuses on disability-related issues — and most of it appears episodically, around commemorative events or individual “success stories.” In India, a 2022 Reuters Institute study revealed that structural barriers within newsrooms — from inaccessible workplaces to lack of sensitization — continue to limit participation and authentic storytelling by persons with disabilities themselves. When stories are told, they often center on “overcoming” rather than “belonging.” Yet, initiatives like the We Care Film Festival, supported by UNESCO and the UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan, are rewriting this narrative by placing lived experiences at the heart of storytelling. The challenge before media, therefore, is not merely to show disability, but to see it with accuracy, empathy, and respect — transforming visibility into voice and awareness into agency.
Cinema as a Catalyst: How Films and Festivals are Rewriting Disability Narratives
Films and film festivals have become powerful sites for re-imagining disability representation — shifting it from the margins of sympathy to the centre of social dialogue. Globally, festivals like ReelAbilities (USA), Superfest (San Francisco), and Focus on Ability (Australia) have pioneered inclusive cinema by featuring films by, for, and about people with disabilities. In India, the We Care Film Festival, The Purple film festival supported by UNESCO and the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan, continues to play a transformative role — bringing over 200 films from 40 countries to public audiences, educational campuses, and government forums. These festivals not only celebrate creativity but also advocate for accessibility, providing subtitles, sign language interpretation, and audio descriptions. Films such as Black (2005), Margarita with a Straw (2014), Ahaan (2019), CODA (2021), and Srikanth (2024) demonstrate that authentic portrayals can dissolve stigma and redefine strength. Through these cinematic spaces, audiences don’t just witness disability — they experience it as a shared human condition. The emergence of such festivals signals that storytelling can be both an artistic expression and an act of activism, fostering a global culture of inclusion that transcends borders, languages, and abilities.
In the End, It’s About Stories — and How We Tell Them
“Disability is not a story. It’s a lived reality.
And media’s job is to tell that reality with respect, depth, and equality.”
These words go beyond sentiment — they are a call for responsibility. Every camera lens, microphone, and editing console has the power to challenge the world’s gaze. When we choose to portray persons with disabilities not as objects of sympathy but as participants in the human narrative, we shift the balance from awareness to acceptance, and from tokenism to transformation.
True inclusion does not begin on film sets or newsroom floors — it begins in our imagination. It begins when a young filmmaker decides to cast authentically; when a journalist chooses to report not just on an event, but on the policy that affects millions; when a classroom discussion inspires empathy instead of pity.
Film , media reports and courses on disability prove that storytelling — when done with sincerity — can bridge worlds, challenge stereotypes, and give voice to those who have long been unheard.
As educators, communicators, and citizens, our task is to keep widening that space — to ensure that inclusion is not a checkbox but a culture. We must prepare a generation of media professionals who see accessibility not as a favour but as a fundamental right, and representation not as an exception but as the norm.
Because in the end, the future of inclusion will not be written in policy documents alone — it will be told in stories.
Stories that humanize, stories that empower, and stories that remind us that every voice, visible or unseen, belongs to the same shared world.
When we change the way we tell stories, we don’t just change the narrative — we change the world itself.
By Prof. Nipunika Shahid : Nipunika is a Faculty of Media Studies, School of Social Sciences CHRIST University, Delhi NCR