New Delhi: The government on Friday (March 15) notified guidelines to make movies more accessible to visually and hearing-impaired persons that make it mandatory for filmmakers to incorporate audio descriptions and closed captions in their films. The Guidelines of Accessibility Standards in the Public Exhibition of Feature Films in Cinema Theatres also ask cinema theatres to use separate equipment during regular shows such as Mirror Captions, Closed Captioning Smart Glasses, Closed Caption Stands, Closed Caption display below the Screen or Headphones/Earphones for Audio Description (AD).

In keeping with the vision of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, to create an inclusive society giving special attention to opportunity and accessibility for Divyangjan, I'm glad to announce that @MIB_India and the govt. has taken a great step in this direction, opening up the… pic.twitter.com/Qlwzhounmt

— Anurag Thakur (मोदी का परिवार) (@ianuragthakur) March 15, 2024

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said,

“I’m glad to announce that @MIB_India and the government have taken a great step in this direction, opening up the theatrical experience to a segment of the population that was previously excluded by notifying the guidelines of Accessibility Standards.”

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The guidelines also asked filmmakers to incorporate Indian Sign Language interpretation by interpreters in a picture-in-picture mode for hearing-impaired persons. Mr Thakur said,

“I’m sure that these comprehensive guidelines establish a robust foundation for accessible feature film content and theatre infrastructure, fostering greater inclusion.”

The guidelines said,

“All feature films that are to be certified in more than one language to comply with the guidelines within six months and all others within two years.”

Starting January 1, 2025, films submitted for prestigious events like the National Film Awards and International Film Festival will also need to comply with these guidelines.

The guidelines also asked film producers to integrate the Closed Captions/Open Captions and Audio Description for the feature film in any suitable software application to extend the accessibility feature in any usual screening of the film in the theatres, which can be used through the personal device of the user.

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