From Eccentric incarnations to dehumanized stereotypes: A reading of Malayalam films showcasing the visually impaired

Abstract

Literature and films are two of the most creative engagements of people of all times. The artists express their feelings, imagination and thoughts about different facets of life through various creative manifestations.  Films and literature constitute the two main facets of such manifestations. There have been many attempts from the part of our mainstream film directors to represent visual impairment. Malayalam film industry is not an exception in this regard. Most of such films carry no relation to the true experience of the visually impaired. They represent them as glorified or nullified in far-fetched imaginative scales. This paper tries to examine some of the most common stereotypes in a few Malayalam films where the visually impaired are major focus of the directors and script writers.