hi, pasting below, the list of 4 movies which my friend was talking about, but just a small correction: the characters in these movies are not blind, but have other disabilities, or belong to other marginalised groups, and all these roles are played by the Malayalam actor Dileep. in 1 of the movies he is a hunch-back, with a badly dis-figured face, in another movie he has a cleft lip with speech impediments, etc. there's 1 movie in which he has no disability, but is a cross-dresser. i.e. he likes to ware so-called feminine clothes. the fact still remains, that irrespective of the disability, these are characters that are not conventionally accepted by society, and especially when they are men, upon whom lies the entire onus of being able, macho, real men of society, it'd be interesting to find out the dynamics of the dual roles written for the actor, and the audiences true responses to such dicotomies. i've also heard that when these movies were dubbed in Tamil, a lot of the Tamil stars refused to perform those roles, claiming that playing such roles will affect their popularity among their fans, deeming them as less masculine and able. here are the names of the movies, and i believe all them were box-office hits.
Kunjikoonan, 2002 (directed by Sasi Shanker), Chanthupottu, 2005 ( directed by Lal Jose), Pachakuthira, 2006 (directed by Kamal), Sound Thoma,2013 (directed by Vyshak). On 2/20/17, Asudani, Rajesh <rajeshasud...@rbi.org.in> wrote: > Hmm. > Interesting. > Usually inactivity is associated with goodness, and presumably blind are > associated with inactivity. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: AccessIndia [mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf > Of Shireen Irani > Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2017 12:33 PM > To: AccessIndia: a list for discussing accessibility and issues concerning > the disabled. > Subject: Re: [AI] From regional to bollywood: Films that show world in a new > light > > while on the subject of regional films, here's something i got to know > the other day which i found very interesting: > > there is a bunch of Malayalam movies, having the following characteristics: > 1. the male protagonist/ hero, is blind. > 2. the actor playing the blind hero, always has a double role, where > his other role is of a sighted guy. > 3. the sighted guy is always a villain/ bad guy, while the blind > character is always good/ likable, and morally correct. > 4. as a result, the audience is always left hating the sighted guy, > and liking, or siding with the blind guy, by the end of the movie. > > this seems to have been a pattern in quite a few Malayalam movies, and > it'd be interesting to dig deeper into the audiences mind to find out > how exactly they interpret these situations. what is it that they > really feel for the blind characters. is it mere sympathy/ empathy, or > do such movies leave lasting impressions about blind people being > generally lovely, well-meaning, nice people, with no evil streak? > what is the intention of directors of such movies. to have made so > many movies with similar themes? > i believe my friend had written a small paper on this issue, and i'm > trying to get hold of it. > i found this whole thing quite fascinating though. > > Shireen. > > On 2/18/17, avinash shahi <shahi88avin...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Can any NGO do an audio description in English of all these regional >> movies discussed in the piece? that's a huge task but worth-doing. >> Regional cinema has a lot to offer which should be taken seriously. >> http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/Films-that-show-world-in-a-new-light/article17312903.ece >> >> >> >> In Mohanlal’s latest release Kanupapa where he plays Jayaram, a >> visually-impaired character, he is a lift-operator, teaches >> Kalaripayattu, plays the violin, sings like a dream and has a crack at >> a Punjabi number too. He hears better than an average human and given >> all his abilities, the need for any sympathy is eliminated from the >> picture. So is the case of spirited Rohan Bhatnagar from Kaabil; >> despite his inability to see, he outsmarts the baddies Amit Shellar >> and Madhavrao Shellar to seek revenge. In Nagesh Kukunoor ’s Dhanak, >> ït’s hard not to connect with Chotu, beautifully essayed by the child >> artiste Krrish Chhabria. >> >> >> >> Click Here! >> >> >> >> >> All these films with chirpy commercial elements received warm public >> responses, a Tamil film Cuckoo that had two visually-challenged >> protagonists falling in love, went onto win a National Award. >> (Oppam-the Malayalam version of Kanupapa was a success, while the >> Telugu version tanked) The positive and vibrant portrayal of these >> characters is a marked departure from the eerie stereotypes that films >> have otherwise reduced them to. >> >> Films are a reflection of the society, adds writer-director Mahesh >> Kathi. “Change comes across when the society turns sensitive about the >> way they treat the differently abled. We don’t call people blind any >> more, they are visually challenged. Most directors who take the middle >> path do well to add nuances. Actors too take it all the more seriously >> now, they are trying their best to live their roles.” >> >> Actor Vikram played a character whos loses his eyesight in Siva >> Thandavam and is reported to be donning the lead role of a visually >> impaired man in a Tamil remake of the Hollywood film Don’t Breathe. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> “A few decades ago, many actors considered such parts a dream,” Mahesh >> feels, adding that with actors like Ravi Teja and Raj Tarun playing >> visually impaired roles in Raja-The Great and Andagadu that the trend >> might return. >> >> Producer-director Tammareddy Bharadwaj has a different take on this >> trend: “ We have always had strong visually-impaired characters even >> in the past, sample NTR’s portrayal in the 1956-starrer Chiranjeevulu, >> for a brief portion in Raktha Sambandham, Laya’s good job in Preminchu >> for a similar role won her a Nandi Award.” . >> >> However these and also Kamal Haasan’s role in Amavasya Chandrudu or >> Sarvadaman Banerjee in Sirivennela, though strong, were overshadowed >> by the melodramatic treatment. >> >> Even for Srinivas Murthy, the executive producer of Kanupapa in >> Telugu, it was the novelty of the theme that convinced him to dub >> regionally. “It was Priyadarshan’s comeback film in Malayalam and I >> was bowled over by the way he approached a subject that was quite >> universal. What convinced me also was the actor’s adeptness in >> essaying the character, similar to what he played in the Telugu-dubbed >> film Yodha.” >> >> >> >> >> >> At a time when staying true to the sensitivities of particular >> community is a widely debated issue, the trend, despite commercial >> liberties, i >> >> >> -- >> Avinash Shahi >> Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU >> >> >> Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility >> of >> mobile phones / Tabs on: >> http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in >> >> >> Search for old postings at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ >> >> To unsubscribe send a message to >> accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in >> with the subject unsubscribe. >> >> To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, >> please >> visit the list home page at >> http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in >> >> >> Disclaimer: >> 1. 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