News

Volume 6 Issue 11 - November 15, 2009

Demand for audio description of Bollywood films on the rise

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: A survey conducted by Royal National Institute of Blind People (R.N.I.B.), a U.K. based organisation, has revealed that there is a strong demand for audio description of Bollywood films. The survey was conducted to explore the potential interest in audio described Bollywood films among blind and partially sighted film viewers in the U.K. Majority stated that they were more likely to watch a Bollywood film with audio description than without it and most preferred the description to be in Hindi.

Audio description is an additional commentary that describes the onscreen action, body language and facial expressions between dialogues. To ‘hear what you can’t see’ is the basis of audio description. It gives information about things one might not be able to see and by listening, one can keep up with the action.

While accessibility to television programmes in India is non-existent, in countries like the U.K., a stringent law mandating all television channels to provide audio description for at least 10 percent of its programmes has made sure that visually impaired persons have access to T.V. shows.