Bollywood For All The Demand For Audio Described Bollywood Films

Bollywood for all
the demand for audio described Bollywood films
Sonali Rai
The quantitative research for this report was done by Agroni Research.
Agroni Research
Bow Business Centre
15-159 Bow Road
London E3 2SE
Tel: 020 8981 1020
Fax: 020 8983 4136
Email: info@agroni.co.uk
Website: www.agroni.co.uk
Project Steering Group

Heather Cryer
Joan Greening
Alison Handford
Anna Jones
Leen Petré
For further information about this research, contact:
Royal National Institute of Blind People

Media and Culture Department
105 Judd Street
London WC1H 9NE
Telephone: 020 7391 2258
Fax: 020 7387 7109
Email: audiodescription@rnib.org.uk
Website: www.rnib.org.uk
2
Foreword
Films and TV programmes are often difficult to appreciate if you can only hear them.
Imagine a scene where a would-be killer is stalking the heroine in a lonely alley. In the
absence of dialogue, the background score alone would be inadequate to render the
scene captivating unless you can see the action. Audio Description (AD) enhances an
audience’s involvement by adding a narrative, which draws word pictures for the
audience during sequences in which the dialogue is few and far between.
RNIB’s involvement with AD has ensured that more than 300 cinemas in the UK are
equipped with systems that facilitate AD and the majority of Hollywood films released
in UK cinemas have an AD track on them. Going to the movies is no longer considered
the prerogative of sighted people.
This study seeks to expand the horizons of RNIB’s initiative, and take it to new shores.
A logical extension of this initiative would be to involve Bollywood, the world’s most
prolific film industry producing around 700 films every year, in this venture. The study
explores whether a potential demand for audio described Bollywood films exists in the
UK and India. Apart from establishing the demand, it seeks to understand the best
medium (TV/DVD/Cinema) to introduce the availability of audio described Bollywood
films and language preferences of the target audience for audio described Bollywood
films. It also aims to understand the best ways of reaching out to this audience to
create awareness about the availability of this service.
Using both qualitative and quantitative research, the study clearly shows that there is a
huge unmet need for audio described Bollywood films in the UK and India.
Bollywood continues to shine for millions of its fans ever since it released its first silent
film. These films mean much more to viewers than just pure entertainment. They have
managed to create that original, sentimental celluloid connection with audiences
around the world. In such a scenario, it becomes even more significant that every
single person, including people of Asian origin with sight loss, get that chance to sit
back and enjoy a Bollywood film of their choice, independently.
This report can be used as a reference tool by the Bollywood film industry, AD
providers and Bollywood film distributors. RNIB hopes that the results of this research
will not only assist the introduction of AD in Bollywood films but also go a long way in
bridging that gap in accessibility for millions of its fans.
Leen Petré
Principal Manager, Media and Culture Department, RNIB
3
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to Sony Pictures Entertainment for supporting this study, by providing
film material from the Bollywood film “Saawariya” for the purpose of this research
study. A big thanks to Independent Television Facilities Centre Limited (ITFC) for
producing audio description for user material to be used in the qualitative research
study.
Sincere thanks to a team of colleagues and friends at RNIB for their encouragement
and support throughout this research study.
During the production of the report, the steering group committee dedicated time to
reviewing and commenting on the content of the material. Amongst those who fulfilled
this enormous task, a special thanks to Heather Cryer and Alison Handford for their
constant guidance and support. Thanks also to all those who participated in the
qualitative and quantitative research interviews, including those who helped us recruit
further participants:
All India Confederation of the Blind

National Association for the Blind
Blind People’s Association (BPA), Ahmedabad
Saksham Trust
Asian Blind Association (ABA)
Kiran Talking Newspaper
Bradnet
Birmingham Focus on Blindness
Newham Voluntary Association for the Blind
Waltham Forest Asian Blind Association
Sonali Garden Day Centre
Dekhtay Chai
Vista Community Centre (Leicester)
Leicester General Hospital (VI Services)
Age Concern (Leicester)
Sanatan Centre
Bradford College
Bilton Medical Centre
Oakland House Care for Old People.
Agroni Research would also like to express their sincere gratitude to Dr Sean Carey,
Ms Nadira Huda, Dr Kapil Ahmed and all the interviewers for their immense
contribution in the completion of the quantitative research study.
4
Executive summary
1. Why was this project undertaken?
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a registered UK charity, representing
the needs and interests of around two million blind and partially sighted people in the
UK. RNIB works directly and indirectly with blind and partially sighted people,
representative organisations, government sectors, broadcasting and entertainment
industries, and a range of professionals working in the field of visual impairment.
A needs survey carried out by RNIB in 1991 showed that 94 per cent of blind and
partially sighted people watch films/television regularly. The survey found that filmed
entertainment and media play an important role in their lives by providing access to
news, information and entertainment. Independent film/television viewing can be
facilitated by the provision of Audio Description (AD).
AD is an additional commentary to a film/television programme, describing body
language, expressions and movements. It gives people information about the things
that they might not be able to see, so that they can keep up with the action on the
screen. It takes away the dependence of relying on someone else to fill in the gaps.
RNIB has ensured access to films by working with all areas of the film industry,
including film distributors, exhibitors and equipment manufacturers, and by influencing
legislation. In the UK today, the majority of Hollywood films are screened with AD, and
40 per cent of cinemas are equipped to deliver AD. Many Hollywood DVDs also include
AD on mainstream UK releases, with the service often promoted on relevant film
websites.
The Indian film industry, popularly known as Bollywood, is by far the most prolific film
industry in the world. The industry, which produces about 700 films a year, has always
had a strong and passionate relationship with its domestic audience. But the 21st
century has seen a new breed of Bollywood fans cropping up across the globe. Even
second or third-generation Asian emigrants, who do not always speak the language of
the film, definitely know their Hrithik Roshans and their Kareena Kapoors. It is the
sheer exuberance of these films that drive them to bridge the language barrier.
Today, the UK is the largest market for Bollywood films outside India.
But since Bollywood films are currently not available with AD, they largely remain
inaccessible to their blind and partially sighted viewers. RNIB, through this study,
sought to investigate the demand for audio described Bollywood films in the UK
and India.
5
Executive summary
2. What was done during the course of the project?

The project aimed to understand behaviours and attitudes of blind and partially
sighted Asian people towards the viewing of Bollywood films with and without AD. The
findings of this project draw on the data collected through a combination of qualitative
and quantitative research studies to provide an accurate picture of the issue being
addressed, with a comprehensive analysis of the barriers faced by the target audience
when watching Bollywood films.
2.1. Objectives
The primary objectives of this study were to provide answers to the following questions
specifically in relation to blind and partially sighted people of Asian origin:
How often does the target group watch Bollywood films, eg at the cinema, on DVD,
or on television?
Would AD encourage the target group to watch Bollywood films more often?
Is the target group likely to change its film viewing habits if AD was provided on
these films?
Which factors influence the target audience’s views on AD of Bollywood films, eg
degree of sight loss, personal circumstances etc?
What preferences do the target audience have in terms of language of the
description, eg Hindi or English?
When AD is provided, what impact does it have on the experience of watching
Bollywood films (positive or negative)?
How might description in Bollywood films differ from description in Hollywood films
to increase viewing and viewing pleasure?
Should the UK AD guidelines be adapted for AD in Bollywood films?
The project also aimed to put forth recommendations for further implementation of
the findings.
2.2. Quantitative research study
The quantitative research was undertaken with 260 blind or partially sighted people of
Asian descent (including people of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin only),
living in the UK. The sample included a range of ages, sight conditions and levels of
familiarity with Bollywood films.
6
Executive summary
2.3. Qualitative research study

Fifty blind or partially sighted Asian people were interviewed for the qualitative study.
Of these, 25 people were interviewed in the UK and 25 in India. The sample included a
wide range of ages, sight conditions and familiarity with Bollywood films although the
majority of participants tended to have severe sight problems.
3. Key findings and conclusions

3.1. Current barriers to watching Bollywood films
Despite accessibility issues, 19 per cent of the 260 respondents in the quantitative
study said they watched a Bollywood film on television everyday, with 6 per cent
stating that they watched them on DVD about once a day.
Viewing of Bollywood films at the cinema was much lower, with 66 per cent stating
they never watched Bollywood films at the cinema. However, about 15 per cent
said they watched a Bollywood film in a cinema at least once a week. A significant
number of respondents, 40 per cent, believed that their current sight level was a
major factor that prevented them from going to the cinema to watch Bollywood
films, as it affected their understanding of the film.
3.2. Likelihood of people watching Bollywood films with AD
Over half of the respondents in both studies stated that they were more likely to
watch Bollywood films if AD was provided (56 per cent in the quantitative study
and 92 per cent in the qualitative study). AD improved understanding of the film
clip for blind and partially sighted people, with people reporting a greater grasp of
location, characters, expressions and the plot.
3.3. Three key areas were identified
3.3.1. Description over songs
Respondents felt it was important to provide AD during songs as well as in the
standard story so as to be able to follow what was happening on the screen.
3.3.2. Language of the description
The majority of respondents preferred AD in Hindi compared with description in
English.
3.3.3. Awareness about audio description
The research found that only five per cent of respondents in the quantitative
study had any previous experience of AD. 16 per cent were aware of AD but
7
Executive summary
were not aware of its features and what it had to offer. There was a significant
lack of awareness about AD amongst blind and partially sighted Asians in the UK.
4. Recommendations
The study was able to establish a number of areas in which the Bollywood film
industry, RNIB, various associations working with blind and partially sighted people in
India, sectors within the Government of India and other stakeholders could usefully
collaborate to improve the accessibility of Bollywood films in the UK and India. The
findings of this research study resulted in the following recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Initiate partnership working with the Indian film
industry
RNIB to work closely with the Indian film industry, sharing the expertise and the
experience, it has built up while working with UK Hollywood distributors. The aim
would be to support the setting up of a system in the UK and India that can
produce AD for Bollywood films.
Recommendation 2: UK pilot of audio described Bollywood films
Keeping in mind that all systems and infrastructure enabling the provision and
delivery of AD in films are in place within the UK, it would be operationally simpler
to pilot the product in the UK first, and then share the experience and expertise
with the industry in India.
If the AD track was available for UK cinema release, the track could then be
included on the DVD and tested in the Indian DVD market.
Recommendation 3: AD for all mediums
The research study was unable to bring out a clear preference for any particular
medium for accessing Bollywood films in the UK or India. A split between
preferences was evident amongst younger cinema goers (18-44 years) and older
home entertainment enthusiasts. Therefore, the Bollywood film industry should be
encouraged to make AD tracks available across diverse film viewing platforms –
cinema, DVD and eventually television.
If AD were to be made available as an optional audio track on the regular DVD

release, it would not only increase the availability of accessible Bollywood films but
also lead to a greater acceptance of AD amongst the general population in both
India and the UK.
8
Executive summary
Recommendation 4: Raising awareness amongst the target population

in the UK
4 (a) RNIB to plan awareness campaigns with the aim of familiarising the UK Asian
blind community with the concept of AD. These promotional activities should be
planned bearing in mind the specific characteristics of the Asian community such
as language preference of the target audience and their knowledge of Hindi.
4 (b) RNIB to share the findings of this research with the UK distributors of
Hollywood films who are forming alliances with the Indian film industry and
distributing Bollywood films in the UK, including Warner Bros and Sony Pictures.
4 (c) RNIB to create awareness within the UK cinema exhibitors about the possible
arrival of audio described Bollywood films. This would enable cinemas to
appropriately assign films to specific screens that are equipped to handle AD.
4 (d) RNIB should work in partnership with organisations providing services to

different Asian communities in the UK to raise the level of awareness about AD for
blind and partially sighted people. The evidence from the research indicates that
there is a high demand for other specialist services like ‘talking newspapers’ for
blind and partially sighted people within the different Asian communities. This
provides a favourable context for the introduction of AD aimed at Asian
communities via Bollywood films.
These activities and campaigns would need to be planned and organised in

conjunction with the relevant industries.
in India
5 (a) RNIB and associations working for/with blind and partially sighted people in
India to work collaboratively with the specific departments within the Government
of India, with the Indian counterparts taking a lead role in creating awareness
about AD and its eventual availability on Bollywood films in India. As AD is a
medium for moving images, cinemas and television could play an instrumental role
in creating this awareness.
9
Executive summary
Recommendation 6: Engage with the Bollywood film industry

6 (a) RNIB could participate in conferences and discussions relevant to the Indian
film industry and non-profit organisations working in the field of visual impairment
and access technologies in India. This would enable wider awareness and
discussion on the subject with a larger audience. Once the discussion gathers
momentum, it should be steered towards practical solutions to making AD
technology widely available.
6 (b) RNIB may wish to think about working in partnership with selected
Bollywood film producers in order to set up a pilot project using AD in Bollywood
films. Such a development would not only benefit blind and partially sighted
people in the UK and India but others living across the globe. This could be done
by organising workshops for selected Bollywood film producers and provide them
with practical advice and support for implementing the Bollywood Audio
Description Initiative.
Recommendation 7: Possible introduction of a legislation in the UK
RNIB may wish to explore with Ofcom, the possibility of achieving a quota for AD
on Bollywood channels shown in the UK.
Recommendation 8: Accessible technology in the UK
The evidence from the survey suggests that many blind and partially sighted
people have difficulty operating current electronic devices providing access to AD.
It is recommended that RNIB continues to work with manufacturers and television
platform operators to ensure that they implement a ‘shortcut’ button on the
remote control so that people can easily access AD.
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Contents
1. Introduction to Bollywood films and its blind and partially
sighted audience ________________________________________________15
1.1. Objectives __________________________________________________17
1.2. Quantitative research study ____________________________________17
1.3. Qualitative research study ______________________________________18
1.4. Structure of the report ________________________________________18
2. Audio Description (AD)____________________________________________20

2.1. What is AD? ________________________________________________20
2.2. Development of AD in the UK __________________________________20
2.3. Enabling AD for 35mm film prints ________________________________20
2.4. Enabling AD for digital cinema __________________________________21
2.5. AD guideliness ______________________________________________21
3. Personas ________________________________________________________22
4. Quantitative research study ________________________________________27

4.1. Executive summary ____________________________________________27
4.2. Introduction ________________________________________________28
4.2.1. Approach: Sample and methodology ________________________29
4.2.2. Sample size and the locations of interviews __________________30
4.2.3. Fieldwork ____________________________________________30
4.2.4. Data processing ________________________________________30
4.3. Key finding 1: About the respondents ____________________________31
4.3.1. Regional distribution of interviews __________________________31
4.3.2. Ethnicity and gender ____________________________________32
4.3.3. Place of interviews and gender of respondents ________________33
4.3.4. Age of respondents ____________________________________33
4.3.5. Types of interviews and the language used for interviews ________34
4.3.6. About respondents’ eye sight______________________________35
4.4. Key finding 2: About television and DVD viewing habits ______________36
4.4.1. Watching Bollywood films on television ______________________38
4.4.2. Watching a Bollywood film on the DVD ______________________40
11
Contents
4.4.3. Factors that affect the viewing of Bollywood films______________42

4.5. Key finding 3: About cinema viewing habits ________________________45
4.5.1. Watching Bollywood films at the cinema ____________________45
4.5.2. Factors that affect the viewing of Bollywood films at the cinema __47
4.5.3. Strategies for watching Bollywood films in a cinema ____________49
4.6. About AD __________________________________________________50
4.7. Preferred mediums for accessing information about new
products/services ____________________________________________53
4.7.1. Top five general sources of information ______________________54
4.7.2. Radio as a source for information __________________________56
4.7.3. Television as a source for information________________________57
4.7.4. Talking Newspapers as a source for information ________________57
4.7.5. Mainstream newspapers and magazines as a source
for information ________________________________________58
4.8. Conclusion __________________________________________________58
4.8.1. Main findings __________________________________________58
4.8.2. Current level of awareness of AD and a further likelihood
of watching a Bollywood film with AD if introduced ____________59
4.8.3. Potential for audio described Bollywood films in the UK ________60
5. Qualitative research study ________________________________________61

5.1. Executive summary ____________________________________________61
5.2. Introduction to AD and the relevant film industry ____________________62
5.2.1. Aims and objectives ____________________________________64
5.2.2. Approach ____________________________________________64
5.2.3. Sample ______________________________________________65
5.2.4. Film material __________________________________________67
5.3. Results ____________________________________________________68
5.3.1. A summary of characteristics of participants __________________68
5.3.2. Level of sight impairment ________________________________69
5.4. Current viewing habits ________________________________________71
5.4.1. Film viewing habits ____________________________________71
5.4.2. Current methods of watching television/films ________________71
5.4.3. Following films/television programmes on television with
the current level of vision ________________________________72
5.4.4. Knowledge of AD ______________________________________76
12
Contents
5.5. What difference does AD make?__________________________________76

5.5.1. Initial impressions ______________________________________76
5.5.2. Objective measures of understanding________________________77
5.5.3. Does better understanding also translate into increased
enjoyment?____________________________________________84
5.5.4. Initial indication of the demand for AD ______________________86
5.5.5. Preferred method for accessing described content ____________87
5.6. Optimising AD for Bollywood films ________________________________88
5.6.1. Language preferences____________________________________88
5.6.2. Describing over songs____________________________________89
5.6.3. What to include in AD __________________________________90
6. Proposed AD guidelines for Bollywood films __________________________91

6.1. What is Audio Description (AD)? ________________________________91
6.2. Users ______________________________________________________91
6.3. Best practice ________________________________________________91
6.3.1. What to describe ______________________________________91
6.3.2. Characters ____________________________________________91
6.3.3. On-screen action ______________________________________92
6.3.4. Settings ______________________________________________92
6.3.5. What not to describe ____________________________________92
6.3.6. When to describe ______________________________________92
6.3.7. Language ____________________________________________93
6.3.8. Delivery ______________________________________________93
6.3.9. Balance ______________________________________________93
6.3.10. Describers ____________________________________________94
6.3.11. Children’s programmes/films ______________________________94
6.3.12. Language and songs in Bollywood Films ____________________94
13
Contents
7. Practical aspects to providing AD on Bollywood films __________________95

7.1. Lack of awareness of AD within the target market
in the UK and India __________________________________________95
7.2. Operational barriers to making audio described films available __________96
7.2.1. Operational barriers to making audio described films available
in India ______________________________________________96
7.2.2. Operational barriers to making audio described films available
in the UK ____________________________________________96
7.3. Commercial considerations ______________________________________97
7.4. Conclusion __________________________________________________98
7.5. Recommendations ____________________________________________98
8. References ____________________________________________________102
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for qualitative study ________________________104
Appendix 2: Questionnaire for quantitative study________________________112
14
1. Introduction to Bollywood films and its
blind and partially sighted audience
The genesis of India’s Hindi film industry can be traced to a public screening of Raja
Harischandra, India’s first silent film, in 1913. It gave the Indian film industry its first
occasion to celebrate.
Almost a hundred years on, the industry continues to be a veritable dream factory for
millions of fans worldwide, without the dream having lost its sheen. The sheer riot of
colours makes an Indian film stand out amongst the crowd of filmed entertainment.
The 1970’s gave birth to a peculiar term, Bollywood, which interestingly, struck a chord
with millions of its film fans living in India and overseas, and over the years it has come
to define the Hindi film industry from Bombay, now known as Mumbai. Bollywood
embodied a style of cinema determined by musical interludes, opulent settings and
high production values that still define the form today.
In 2001, the film industry was brought under the Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FICCI). This was done with a view to corporatise the film
industry in India. Within a few years of its inception, the FICCI entertainment
committee was able to obtain an ‘industry’ status from the government.
Bollywood produces, on average, around 700 films a year, making it not only the
dominant national film industry, but perhaps the largest in the world. With films being
the most popular form of mass entertainment in India, the industry has witnessed a
robust double digit growth over the past decade.
The massive Indian expatriate population, for whom Bollywood movies are not just
three-hour diversions on a week-night but a part of their childhood memories, is
turning Bollywood blockbusters into international hits. Things have come a long way
from the 1970’s Britain, when there were no cinemas devoted to Bollywood films and
its fans would take over a local cinema to show a popular Hindi film over the weekend.
Today popular cinema chains like Odeon, Vue and Cineworld regularly screen
Bollywood films.
15
1. Introduction to Bollywood films and its blind and partially sighted audience
Gauging the popularity of Bollywood films in the UK

A small, but growing, part of the audience in the UK and Republic of Ireland
enjoys foreign language films, of which there were 170 releases in 2007 in 33
languages, taking 3.5 per cent of the box office. Hindi figured at the top of the list
of foreign languages in the UK and Republic of Ireland box office in 2007 with 13
Hindi titles dominating the top 20 foreign language film chart of 2007.
[UK Film Council (2007) Statistical Year Book, Page 73]
The Indian film industry too is equally keen to reach out to its global audience. In
accordance with the FICCI and Pricewaterhouse Coopers report on Indian
entertainment and media industry 2007, even though domestic box office collections
continue to be the largest contributor to the revenues of the industry at 74 per cent,
the share of the domestic box office is projected to reduce to 70 per cent by 2012,
primarily in favour of overseas and ancillary revenues. The report also points out that
“the overseas collections are estimated to grow cumulatively at 19 per cent over the
next five years to reach GBP 250 million in 2012 from a current size of GBP 105
million in 2007. [June 2009: 1 GBP = 79.69 Indian Rupees]. There are several growth
drivers for this segment from increased marketing and selling efforts internationally, to
a significantly more organised distribution plan.” [FICCI and Pricewaterhouse Coopers
(2007) – Indian entertainment and media industry]
This trend is also reflected in the UK Film Council’s “Statistical Yearbook 2007”, which
says that minority ethnic groups were equally or over-represented in the 60 per cent of
the UK population that said they went to the cinema at least once a year.
But Bollywood films continue to remain inaccessible to blind and partially sighted
people because of the absence of AD. One of the major reasons contributing to this
continued inaccessibility could be the absence of technology enabling AD in Indian
cinemas, which is the primary market for Bollywood films.
In the UK, more than 300 cinemas are equipped with AD facilities and the UK distribu-
tors for Hollywood films such as Warner Bros Distributors, Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures UK, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Paramount Pictures UK,
Universal Pictures UK, Pathé Distribution and Sony Pictures Releasing increase the
accessibility of their films by providing subtitling for deaf and hard of hearing people
and AD for blind and partially sighted people on almost 100 per cent of their UK
releases. The Bollywood Audio Description Project seeks to explore this gap in accessi-
bility of Bollywood films and its ramifications on blind and partially sighted Bollywood
fans living in the UK and India.
16
1.1. Objectives
This report is the first in-depth investigation of AD for Bollywood films that RNIB has
undertaken. It seeks to understand behaviours and attitudes of blind and partially
sighted people towards viewing Bollywood films with and without AD. The objectives
of this report are as follows:
to look at television viewing and cinema going habits of blind and partially sighted
people in India and within the Asian community in the UK
to investigate if there is an unmet demand within the target audience for audio
described Bollywood films
to broadly gauge the size of the market for such films in both countries
to investigate the feasibility of audio described Bollywood films for the benefit of
blind and partially sighted film viewers in the UK and India.
This report draws on a combination of qualitative and quantitative research studies
carried out for the purpose of this project.
1.2. Quantitative research study

The purpose of this quantitative research study, aside from throwing light on the
approximate market size for audio described Bollywood films in the UK, was to explore
the cinema and DVD viewing habits of people with sight loss within the UK Asian
community. The survey interviewed a total of 260 blind and partially sighted people
from the Asian community across the UK. It was carried out by Agroni Research.
It is important to understand that, in the absence of any robust data being available on
blind and partially sighted Asian population living in the UK, the study is only
equipped to give an impression of the approximate market size for audio described
Bollywood films in the UK. As part of the study to understand the market size, we
followed a basic deductive process with the available data, which indicate that 4 per
cent of the UK’s current population of 54 million either belong, or are descendants of,
people who belonged to the Indian sub-continent. Combined with RNIB’s estimate that
there are around two million blind and partially sighted people in the country (RNIB,
2005), it led us to conclude that about 80,000 people should be the approximate
number of blind and partially sighted Asians in the UK. But this process failed to take
into account various other factors that would significantly influence the size of this
group such as:
17
Older people are far more likely to be affected by sight problems and, according to
the Office of National Statistics, there is a lower proportion of older people
belonging to the Asian population in the UK.
People of Asian descent are more likely to have diabetes and about 60 per cent of
people with diabetes go on to develop diabetic retinopathy. The early stages of
diabetic retinopathy may cause blurred vision, or they may produce no visual
symptoms at all. As the disease progresses, a cloudiness of vision, blind spots or
floaters may occur. This makes activities such as reading, driving and watching
television extremely difficult. If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can cause
blindness.
1.3. Qualitative research study

This in-depth qualitative research study investigated behaviours, attitudes and barriers
for watching Bollywood films among 25 blind or partially sighted Asians living in the
UK; and 25 blind and partially sighted people in India. The study included adults and
children, viewers and non-regular viewers of Bollywood films.
This report includes findings from this qualitative research study. While it is believed
that these findings will make a useful contribution to the debate in this area, the
results of the qualitative research should not be used to draw statistically robust
conclusions for the entire population of blind and partially sighted people from the
Asian community in the UK or India.
1.4. Structure of the report

Chapter 2 discusses the development of AD in the UK and its current status.
Chapter 3 presents a series of six personas, to summarise the breadth of Bollywood
film viewing experiences observed across the samples. Each persona represents an
amalgamation of insights obtained across the samples. It also provides further
context to the results with particular regard to the key user group – blind or partially
sighted Bollywood film viewers.
Chapter 4 looks quantitatively at people’s habits with reference to the watching of
Bollywood films on television, DVD and in cinemas in the UK. It includes an
indication of the market size for such films.
18
Building on this, chapter 5 uses the qualitative study to look at the behaviours and
attitudes to the viewing of Bollywood films and related aspects with special
reference to AD.
Chapter 6 draws up guidelines for AD in Bollywood films using the research findings.
Chapter 7 draws up recommendations based on the quantitative data, qualitative
data and interaction with the Bollywood film industry to look at the best ways of
introducing AD in Bollywood films.
19
2. Audio Description (AD)
2.1. What is AD?
Similar to a narrator telling a story, AD is an additional commentary describing body
language, expressions and movements – allowing you to hear what you might not be
able to see.
2.2. Development of AD in the UK

Even though research and actual testing of AD was being carried out in the UK in the
early 1990’s, it was the Broadcasting Act 1996, which made it mandatory for UK digital
terrestrial television broadcasters to provide AD on 10 per cent of its programming.
The Communications Act 2003 extended this legal obligation to cable and satellite
broadcasters. The provision has come a long way, with one of the private broadcasters
in the UK, British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) having committed to providing AD on 20
per cent of its programming.
The first UK cinema release with AD was in 2002 – Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone.
In 2003, the UK Film Council launched its Cinema Access Programme to improve
facilities for people with hearing or sight loss. Within a year, a further 79 UK cinemas
were equipped with subtitle/caption and AD equipment to enable more people to
enjoy the cinema experience. Today, there are more than 300 ‘accessible’ cinemas. As a
consequence, there is now a thriving industry of AD providers in the UK.
2.3. Enabling AD for 35mm film prints

Until recently, there were only two systems that enabled AD in UK cinemas – DTS and
Dolby.
The DTS Cinema Subtitling System (DTS-CSS) is installed in more than 200 UK
cinemas. A disc containing both the subtitles/captions is projected directly onto the
film print and the AD track is synchronised with the DTS time code.
The Dolby ScreenTalk system is installed in almost 100 UK cinemas and delivers cinema
subtitles/captions and AD for films. The system allows subtitles to be projected on to
any standard film print. This system is no longer available in the market.
20
2. Audio Description (AD)
In both systems, AD is transmitted to blind and partially sighted people in the

auditorium via an infrared headphone system. Once a film print has been provided
with DTS and/or Dolby time codes, the AD for the film is decoded in the cinema by
either the DTS-CSS system or Dolby ScreenTalk – depending on which system has
been installed.
2.4. Enabling AD for digital cinema

With the advent of Digital cinema, AD is now part of the digital cinema package and
is transmitted through an infra red headphone system. The challenge for the industry
is to have the AD track finished and available in time for it to be included on the
digital print.
2.5. AD guidelines
The most comprehensive set of instructions for audio describers, Guidance on
Standards for Audio Description, was developed by the Independent Television
Commission (ITC) in the UK as a result of the Broadcasting Act 1996. Amongst other
things, the document laid down guidelines in considerable detail on prioritising
information, stating the obvious, mentioning colours and ethnic origins.
Complete guidelines are available on: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive
/itc/uploads/ITC_Guidance_On_Standards_for_Audio_Description.doc
These were later updated by Ofcom in their Code on Television Access Services in 2006.
The updated Guidelines on the Provision of Television Access Services, are available on:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/guidance/tv_access_serv/guidelines/
These guidelines are used by the AD service providers as a tool while writing and
recording descriptions for broadcast and film materials.
21
3. Personas
A total of 260 people were interviewed for the quantitative study and a total of 50
people were interviewed for the qualitative study of this research. Amongst the 50
people interviewed for the qualitative research study, 25 people were interviewed in
the UK and 25 in India. All participants tended to have severe sight problems. A wide
age range of people was interviewed to gain a comprehensive understanding of
problems faced by blind and partially sighted viewers of Bollywood films. From the
qualitative sample, 40 people were interviewed in Hindi and 10 in English.
During the study, a broad range of life situations and experiences in reference to their
film viewing habits was described to us. To bring our research participants to life for
the reader, we present six personas. None of the personas were real participants in the
research, but their characteristics and features were based on research observations
gained in this project.
Persona 1: Asha, age 32, unemployed

Loves going to the movies and watches almost every Bollywood film released in UK
cinemas. Also, watches a lot of films and film related shows on television.
Not a native Hindi speaker, she understands the language sufficiently to follow
Bollywood films. She enjoys film music and regularly downloads Bollywood songs from
the internet.
Partially sighted since birth, Asha differs in the techniques she uses to understand a
film from a sighted person:
She often depends on her friends to tell her what is happening on the screen.
She depends a lot on audio clues to understand the film better.
While watching a Bollywood film in a cinema, Asha does not like asking her
friends/family to explain to her what’s happening on the screen and, as a result,
quite often ends up losing track of the plot.
Asha is familiar with AD and uses it to watch soaps on British television channels,
and wishes that Bollywood films were available with AD.
22
3. Personas
Persona 2: Rajesh, age 87, a retired musician

He enjoys his Bollywood films at home now – television or DVD. Rajesh has subscribed
to the Asian package offered by one of the satellite television service providers. He
receives seven Asian entertainment channels, three of which are 24-hour Hindi movie
channels.
A native Hindi speaker, he has a collection of old Bollywood films on DVD, which he
listens to (views) when someone gets the player going for him. He can manage the
remote control but with difficulty.
Totally blind since birth, Rajesh differs in the techniques he uses to understand a film
from a sighted person:
He used to enjoy going to the cinema when he was younger but says that he now
finds it embarrassing when his companion/friend, who is trying to help by
explaining the screenplay, is asked to keep quiet. He would rather watch them at
home where he can ask friends/family for assistance.
A musician by profession, he loves film music. So his family purchases a lot of music
CDs for him. But he does not enjoy songs while watching the films as he misses out
on all the action during the songs.
Rajesh has never heard or used AD as an aid to understand what is happening on
the television/cinema screen.
Persona 3: Tarun, age 46, works for a private company

He is very fond of watching films in cinemas and has always enjoyed going to the
cinema. He watches at least one film a week in a cinema. Depending on his mood and
the availability of films in his local cinemas, he will go for a Bollywood or a Hollywood
film.
Not a native Hindi speaker, Tarun can speak little Hindi but understands the language
as Urdu, a language very similar to Hindi, is spoken at home. He does not face any
language barriers in gaining an understanding of a Bollywood film, and, in fact,
attributes his knowledge of Hindi to Bollywood films.
Tarun has been totally blind since the age of 12 and differs in his film viewing habits
from a sighted person:
He rarely asks any one for help to understand a film as he feels it will spoil the film
for him and his friend. He prefers to use audio clues to understand what he can on
23
3. Personas
his own. Occasionally, he gets frustrated if he fails to understand the plot or the film
takes a weird turn – he knows he has missed something but does not have a clue
what that could be.
Tarun uses AD very regularly to watch Hollywood films in cinemas and at home on
the television. He wishes audio described Bollywood films were available.
Persona 4: Aarti, age 58, housewife

Likes watching films and dramas on the television:
She does not visit the cinema any more unless there is a very good film on, maybe a
film starring one of her old favourites.
She only goes when her family is able to find time to visit the cinema with her and
wants to watch the same film. Aside from the fact that she enjoys their company
and takes it as a family day out, she is now unsure about her ability to move around
independently.
A native Hindi/Gujarati speaker, she watches at least five to six hours of television
each day, which usually includes one film. She has subscribed to the entire Asian
television channel package by one of the private satellite broadcasters:
Aarti often discusses films/television soaps with her neighbours/friends so she feels
it is important for her to watch films/television soaps to be a part of the group.
Aarti is now partially sighted. She was diagnosed with glaucoma seven years ago.
Glaucoma is a sight condition that can lead to blindness if left untreated. Aarti wears
prescription glasses and has to use to eye drops that may control further damage to
her sight. Aarti differs in her film/television viewing habits from sighted people:
She sits very close to the screen when she watches television and also wears special
stronger glasses to improve the quality of the picture as much as possible.
Even though Aarti has digital television at home, she never accesses the electronic
programme guide because she can’t read the small print even when she sits close to
the screen. She is reluctant to try out new features on her digital television and has
memorised the few buttons which she uses regularly on her remote control.
Aarti has heard about AD but doesn’t know what it exactly is. She would like to find
out more and is keen to use it, provided it is easy to find out which films are
described and it is not difficult to switch it on and off on her television/or on DVDs.
24
3. Personas
Persona 5: Puja, age 13, school student

She loves watching films in a cinema or on the television. She is allowed to watch two
hours of television each day and one or two films in a week:
She forces her parents to take her to the cinema over the weekend so that she can
talk about it with her friends at school.
She watches a lot of film based shows on the television and is very comfortable
using the television remote control. Her favourite television channels, when she is
not watching films or kids programming, are MTV and Channel V. These are 24-hour
music channels that play songs from latest Bollywood films.
Puja is totally blind from birth and her film/television viewing habits differ from other
children’s:
She seeks help from her sibling to explain to her what’s happening on the screen.
She does not like cartoons or animated films as there is too much going on for her
to understand on her own.
Puja has never heard or used AD as an aid to understand what is happening on the
television/cinema screen, but she is always keen to try out new features on her
television/DVD player. So she is quite likely to want to try it if it becomes available.
Persona 6: Mukesh, age 76, retired

He likes to watch television and, aside from Bollywood classic films, he enjoys news
and sports based programmes. On average, he watches about four to five hours of
television each day, mostly in his wife’s company. He has mobility problems and
therefore does not go to the cinema:
Mukesh has always been a cricket enthusiast. He watches all the matches that are
broadcast on television.
He used to enjoy watching a lot of films until about a decade ago. Now he only
watches new films by selected directors or he will watch films that he enjoyed earlier
in his life.
Mukesh has been diabetic for almost 22 years and has lost most of his sight due to
diabetic retinopathy. The technique he uses for watching film/television differs from
sighted people:
25
3. Personas
He says he does not watch films/ television anymore; he listens to them in the same
way as he would listen to a radio.
He misses watching cricket matches and his favourite star’s films when they are
released.
He does not like asking anyone, even his wife, to explain to him what is happening
on the screen as it makes him feel dependant.
Even though Mukesh is relatively comfortable with technology, he is reluctant to try
out new devices such as his new digital set-top box or his new DVD player. He has
memorised a few buttons on the remote control to facilitate basic functions.
Mukesh has heard about AD but has never used it. He is not aware that AD is available
on some of the television channels that he watches regularly such as BBC/Sky sports.
He would be willing to try out AD if it was easy to access on his digital set top box and
did not require him to go into complicated menus. He would certainly access it if it was
a single step process as he misses the independence that he lost with his sight.
26
4. Quantitative research study
4.1 Executive summary
This study explored Bollywood film viewing behaviour amongst blind and partially
sighted people of Asian origin in the UK to understand:
the film viewing habits of blind and partially sighted people of Asian origin resident
in the UK
the specific needs and preferences of blind and partially sighted people of Asian
origin in relation to AD in Bollywood films
the demand for audio described Bollywood films in the UK.
Overall, 260 blind and partially sighted people from the Asian community living in
London, Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford were interviewed for this study.
The research was able to establish that Bollywood films were popular amongst the
target audience; 73 per cent of the respondents stated that they watched Bollywood
films on television; 53 per cent of respondents reported that they watched them on
DVD. The frequency of viewing Bollywood films obviously varied amongst respondents;
43 per cent of the respondents watched a Bollywood film on television at least once a
week while 19 per cent of the respondents watched a Bollywood film on DVD during
the same period. Interestingly, 15 per cent of respondents reported that they watched
a Bollywood film in the cinema at least once a week.
However, a minority of respondents, 10 per cent for television and 14 per cent for
DVD, stated that they did not watch Bollywood films because they found it too
difficult to engage with the current technology. This research finding suggests that the
introduction of simpler technology allowing easier access to television and DVD could
significantly boost the number of blind and partially sighted Asian people viewing
Bollywood films.
Another significant finding was the low level of awareness about AD amongst blind
and partially sighted Asian people. 56 per cent of the respondents stated they had
never heard of AD while only five per cent of respondents said that they had used it at
some point. Having introduced users to AD during the study, 57 per cent of
respondents reported that they would be more likely to watch a Bollywood film that
was audio described compared to a film that was not. Only 14 per cent of respondents
said they were less likely to watch a Bollywood film that was audio described.
27
Overall, the evidence from this research suggests that there is demand for audio
described Bollywood films amongst blind and partially sighted people from the Asian
community living in the UK.
4.2. Introduction
Though it might be hard to comment on the exact size of the Bollywood film industry,
it would not be wrong to say that it is the largest and the most prolific film industry in
the world. Mihir Bose (2007), in his book Bollywood: A History, notes that the Indian
film industry produces around 1,000 feature films annually and that some 14 million
Indians go to the cinema every day. These figures suggest that on an annual basis
around a million more people buy tickets for Indian films than for those produced in
Hollywood. Interestingly, the International Indian Film Academy (2007) offers an
alternative estimate to Bose’s and claims that around 23 million Indians go to see a film
every day. It also calculates that around 15-20 per cent of the income of the Indian
film sector comes from overseas markets.
A recent study carried out by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) confirms that revenue from
overseas releases is becoming a significant source of income for the Indian film
industry. It reports that the income from overseas markets for the sector was estimated
to be £107 million in 2007. This translates into 21 per cent growth since 2006 (The
Indian Entertainment and Media Industry; Sustaining Growth, 2008:28). Furthermore,
PWC and the FCCI predict that income from overseas markets for the Indian film
industry will reach £251 million by 2012 (note figures based on current currency
exchange rate of 1 GBP = 79.69 Indian Rupees, June 2009). However, despite the
social and economic significance of the Bollywood film industry, Bollywood films are
not available with AD.
Significantly, the UK has the largest audience for Indian cinema outside India with
Bollywood films regularly achieving a position within the UK box office top 10. This
success can be largely, although not exclusively, attributed to film goers in the large
Asian communities, namely people from the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin
settled in the UK.
The 2001 census shows that over half of the black and minority ethnic (BME)
population in the UK is of Asian origin constituting four per cent of the overall
population. Indians were the largest minority group – 23 per cent of the total minority
ethnic population; 16 per cent were Pakistanis and six per cent were Bangladeshis.
A report published by The Information Centre (2006) estimated that there were
152,000 registered blind and 155,000 registered as partially sighted people in the UK.
28
(Note: Registration is not mandatory therefore actual numbers of blind and partially
sighted people are higher). Sefton, Baker and Praat, (2005) suggest that five per cent
of the registered blind/partially sighted people are from the Black and Minority Ethnic
communities. They also estimated that Pakistanis represent 31 per cent and Indians 29
per cent of BME people with a sensory disability.
In this context, RNIB commissioned Agroni Research to undertake a quantitative
research survey amongst blind and partially sighted people of Asian origin. As
mentioned earlier, for the purpose of this study the term Asian refers to people from
the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities only. The aims and objectives of
the research were as follows:
Explore the film viewing habits of blind and partially sighted people within the Asian
population in the UK
Establish whether there is a demand for audio described Bollywood films in the UK
Investigate the specific needs and preferences of blind and partially sighted people
in relation to the AD of Bollywood films.
4.2.1. Approach: Sample and methodology

A combination of face to face and telephone interviews was used to gather responses.
Multilingual interviewers were used to ensure effective engagement with respondents
from the designated ethnic groups. Interviewers were also gender matched to
respondents to overcome cultural barriers.
Fifty organisations working with blind and partially sighted Asian people, including
charitable and statutory organisations such as local authorities and specialist eye
hospitals, were contacted. A number of appropriate organisations were also contacted
in regions known for their high Asian population. Some of these organisations were
unable to provide contact details of their members, for reasons including data
protection. Overall, 20 organisations were willing to assist with this research.
Some of these were only able to sign post to other institutions, while others were able
to facilitate interviewers in their scheduled gatherings and meetings of blind and
partially sighted people. It should be noted that in the end only 85 (33 per cent) out
of 260 successfully completed interviews were conducted in community centres, while
168 (65 per cent) of the interviews were conducted at the homes of respondents. In
addition, interviewers identified blind and partially sighted people from the different
Asian communities and used a range of approaches to generate contacts including the
use of social networks of friends and relatives as well as visiting local shops, schools,
colleges, hospitals and housing estates.
29
4.2.2. Sample size and the locations of interviews

The sample size for the study was 260 people. Interviews were conducted with blind
and partially sighted people from the Asian community spread across the UK. The
regions selected for the study were London, Birmingham, Leicester and Bradford. A
small number of interviews were also conducted in Manchester and Oldham. For the
purpose of this report, and because of the geographical proximity of these locations,
these interviews were grouped together with those carried out in Bradford. An attempt
was made to include an equal number of respondents from each of the ethnic
communities. In addition, an attempt was made to make the regional spread reflect the
population size of the respective communities. However, a relaxation of the
aforementioned soft quotas was made as the fieldwork progressed to ensure a
sufficient number of respondents were interviewed.
It should be noted, however, that no strict quotas were set for ethnicity, gender and
age among the target population. Further details about the ethnicity, gender and age
of respondents are provided in the key findings section.
4.2.3. Fieldwork
The research questionnaire was made available in five different languages – English,
Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati and Urdu. This was done to standardise the script for the field
researchers since the project required them to interview people who might be more
willing to participate if the interview was done in their preferred language. Hindi,
Bengali, Gujarati and Urdu were chosen as they are the most commonly spoken
languages amongst the Asian community.
23 interviewers were able to complete around 11 interviews each on average over a
period of nine weeks. However, two interviewers in Leicester and Birmingham were
able to secure the co-operation of staff at drop-in centres for blind and partially
sighted people and were, therefore, able to benefit from the excellent connections that
these organisations had with local blind and partially sighted people.
4.2.4. Data processing
Data was first entered in the Excel program with a unique identification number and
then transferred to SPSS for analysis. Frequency tables were created to check the
categories of all variables and to identify coding errors to ensure that they were
consistent with the original records. Different consistency checks were then carried out
between the variables to ensure the integrity of the data. Finally, a clean data set was
generated to produce a variety of tables and graphs. Tables were prepared for almost
all variables included in the questionnaire and SPSS outcomes were presented with a
30
number along with percentages either in a tabular format or in a graphical

representation. Additional cross tables were also prepared by controlling some socio-
demographic aspects and presented in a tabular format indicating both number and
percentages.
Appropriate statistical tests were performed for relevant characteristics, eg age and
sight level of respondents relating to some selected responses. In this instance it was
not feasible to use random sampling owing to the unavailability of reliable data on the
sampling population to work from. Other practical implications, such as time and cost,
made a thoroughly comprehensive sampling method prohibitive. Hence stratified
opportunity sampling was utilised in this study. However, it is a well established
research principle that any sample that includes at least 200 cases is deemed to be
representative. In this instance this study utilised a sample size of 260 respondents.
Therefore the study is very confident that the sample is representative of blind and
partially sighted people of Asian origin and descent.
4.3. Key finding 1: About the respondents

4.3.1. Regional distribution of interviews
Figure 1 shows the number of valid interviews that were successfully completed in
each region.
Figure 1. Distribution of respondents according to region (N=260).
31
25 per cent of interviews were conducted in London, 33 per cent in Leicester, 21 per
cent in Birmingham and 21 per cent in Bradford and Manchester. The number of
interviews conducted in Leicester was relatively high compared with other regions. This
was primarily because of the co-operation of a community centre which offered a wide
range of activities for blind and partially sighted people. Leicester is home to one of
the largest Indian communities living outside India. Figures obtained from Leicester
City Council (2009) count 72,000 Indian residents amongst its population, the highest
for any single area in the UK.
4.3.2. Ethnicity and gender

Overall 60 per cent interviews were conducted with respondents of Indian origin,
29 per cent of the interviews were conducted with respondents of Bangladeshi origin
and 11 per cent of the interviews were conducted with respondents of Pakistani origin.
Table 1 shows the ethnicity of respondents.
Table 1. Ethnicity of respondents (N=260)
Ethnicity of respondents Number of respondents Per cent
Indian 157 60.3%

Bangladeshi 75 28.8%
Pakistani 28 10.8%
TOTAL 260 100%
There were more male respondents (57 per cent) than female respondents (43 per
cent). This reflects the fact that the male respondents were easier to identify and
approach through community networks than the female respondents, some of whom
are part of a ‘hard-to-reach’ population in many areas. The decision not to use a
gender specific quota system in the research also contributed to the unequal
participation of male and female respondents. Table 2 shows the gender breakdown.
Table 2. Gender breakdown of respondents (N=260)
Gender of respondents Number of respondents Per cent
Male 148 57%

Female 112 43%
TOTAL 260 100%
32
4.3.3. Place of interviews and gender of respondents

Table 3 shows that the majority of the interviews were conducted either at
respondents’ homes (65 per cent) or community centres (33 per cent). A smaller
number of interviews were carried out in places of worship (five per cent) and the
workplace (one per cent). Of all the female respondents interviewed, the number of
female respondents interviewed at home (61 per cent) was lower than the number of
male respondents (68 per cent) interviewed at home. By contrast, the number of male
respondents interviewed in community centres (28 per cent) was lower compared with
female respondents (39 per cent). This difference is readily explained because one
researcher located a large number of female respondents at a community centre in
Leicester. It is also noteworthy that the relatively small number of interviews that were
carried out in the workplace were carried out with male respondents only.
Table 3. Place of interview by gender
Male respondents Female respondents

Place of interview
(N=148) (N=112)
Home 68% 61%
Community centre 28% 39%
Workplace 2% 0%
Place of worship 3% 0%
4.3.4. Age of respondents

Table 4 shows a spread of the age groups that participated in the research. The
majority of respondents (79 per cent) were between the ages of 45-74. Only 12 per
cent were between the ages of 18-44. Furthermore, 14 per cent of respondents were
between 75-84 years of age and only five per cent over 85 years of age. The older age
group, often first-generation emigrants, were usually only fluent in their native
language. Members of older age groups tended to spend more time at home and
consequently were far less likely to use outside facilities (including cinemas) than their
younger counterparts.
33
Table 4. Age of respondents (N=260)
Age of respondents Number of respondents Per cent
18-24 years 8 3.1%

25-34 years 26 10%
35-44 years 22 8.5%
45-54 years 47 18.1%
55-64 years 53 20.4%
65-74 years 55 21.2%
75-84 years 37 14.2%
85+ years 12 4.6%
TOTAL 260 100%
4.3.5. Types of interviews and the language used for interviews

The overwhelming majority of the interviews (84 per cent) were conducted face-to-
face while the remainder (16 per cent) were conducted over the telephone.
Figure 2. Type of interview (N=260)
34
Respondents were offered a choice of languages in which the interviews could be

conducted. The majority of respondents (78 per cent) selected their native language
while 22 per cent preferred to speak in English. The number of interviews conducted in
community languages were as follows:
Table 5. Language used for the interview (N=260)
Language Number of respondents Per cent
Gujarati 71 27.3%
Bengali 66 25.4%
English 58 22.3%
Urdu 48 18.5%
Hindi 17 6.5%
TOTAL 260 100%
Because of their language preference, interviews with 10 per cent of the respondents
from the Indian origin were actually conducted in Urdu while one Bengali respondent
and a Pakistani respondent were interviewed in Hindi. Here it is relevant to note that
nearly all Asians, even young British-Asians from non-Hindi speaking communities,
have an adequate knowledge of the Hindi language to be able to follow the story lines
of contemporary Bollywood films.
4.3.6. About respondents’ eye sight

When respondents were asked to describe the current condition of their eyesight, just
over one-third (34 per cent) reported that they defined themselves as blind. Of the
remainder, two out of three respondents (66 per cent) stated that they defined
themselves as partially sighted (Table 6).
Table 6. Condition of respondent eye sight (self-assessment) (N=260)
Frequency Per cent Cumulative
Blind 88 34% 34
Partially sighted 172 66% 100
TOTAL 260 100% 100%
35
When asked whether they were registered blind or partially sighted, 35 per cent said
they were registered as partially sighted while 32 per cent of the respondents reported
being registered as blind as table 7 shows.
Table 7. Are you registered as blind or partially sighted?
Frequency Per cent
Blind 92 35.4%
Partially sighted 83 31.9%
Don’t know 46 17.7%
Neither 39 15%
TOTAL 260 100%
The remaining 15 per cent of respondents had not registered and an additional 18 per
cent did not know whether they were registered or not, often because they were
“looked after by others”, ie family members.
4.4. Key finding 2: About television and DVD

viewing habits
Respondents were asked to identify the level and type of difficulty they had while
watching television from a list of options. Only a small number of respondents, eight
per cent, said that they had no difficulty following programmes/films on television.
However, many respondents reported experiencing the following difficulties:
52 per cent had difficulty in seeing the buttons on the remote control
A similar percentage (52 per cent) said that they were unable to see the fine details
on the television screen
44 per cent had difficulty seeing the picture on the television screen
Just under half of all respondents (49 per cent) had difficulty seeing text on the
television screen
22 per cent could not see anything on the television screen.
36
Table 8. When watching TV, do you have any of the following? (N= 260)
Multiple responses Frequency Per cent
Difficulty seeing the buttons on the remote control 134 51.5%

Difficulty seeing the fine detail on the TV screen 134 51.5%
Difficulty seeing text on the TV screen 127 48.8%
Difficulty seeing the picture on the TV screen 114 43.8%
Able to see the light of the TV screen 84 32.3%
Cannot see anything on the TV screen 58 22.3%
Do not find any difficulty following what is
21 8.1%
going on the screen
This data clearly lends support to the belief that sight problems have a significant
impact on a blind or partially sighted person’s experience of watching a
programme/film on television or DVD.
Respondents were also asked what sort of adjustments they made when watching
television and/or DVDs or whether they used any visual aids to improve their visual
capacity. The most common coping strategies were as follows:
45 per cent of respondents stated that they simply picked up as much as possible
from the sound of the programme/film
39 per cent reported that they wore stronger glasses to improve their vision
29 per cent stated that they sat closer to the television screen
24 per cent relied on the assistance of family members or friends to explain to them
what was happening on the screen
Table 9 (overleaf) provides further details of strategies employed by respondents to

improve their television and DVD viewing.
37
Table 9. What adjustments do you make when watching television or DVD? (N=260)
Just pick up as much as possible from the sound of

117 45%
the film or programme
Wear special stronger glasses 101 39%
Get closer to the television screen 76 29%
Ask my friends or family members to assist by
63 24%
explaining what happens on the screen
Use residual sight to watch 54 21%
Use a large screen television 23 9%
Adjust the lighting in the room 17 7%
Use a magnifier 16 6%
Adjust the screen settings 10 4%
Make none of these adjustments 10 4%
Use AD to explain what happens on the screen 8 3%
Never watch television or DVD(s) 7 3%
It is noteworthy that only a small minority (three per cent) of the respondents,
reported that they had used AD at some point in the past. Interestingly, only three per
cent of all respondents stated that they never watched television or DVDs.
4.4.1. Watching Bollywood films on television

A large majority of the respondents reported that they liked watching Bollywood films
on a variety of television channels with a fifth of the sample watching a Bollywood film
on television every day. But a quarter of the sample said that they never watched
Bollywood films on television at all.
19 per cent of the respondents stated that they watched a Bollywood film once a
day on television.
15 per cent of the respondents said that they watched a Bollywood film a couple of
times a week on television.
11 per cent of the respondents said that they watched a Bollywood film once a
week on television.
38
Four per cent of respondents said that they watched Bollywood films once a
fortnight on television.
10 per cent of the respondents indicated that they watched a Bollywood film once a
month on television.
Five per cent of the respondents stated that they watched a Bollywood film once
every three months on television.
Eight per cent of respondents said that they watched a Bollywood film once a year
on television.
27 per cent of the respondents said that they never watched a Bollywood film on
television.
Overall, 73 per cent of respondents stated that they watched Bollywood films on
various television channels at least once a year.
Table 10 below shows the frequency of respondents broken down by sight level who
were regular watchers of Bollywood films and those who were not interested in
Bollywood films.
(Notes: Sight level groupings are based on self-reported assessment as blind or
partially sighted. Those who never watched Bollywood films on TV were categorised as
“not interested”, whereas those who watched between once a day and once a month
were categorised as “watch often”)
Table 10. Watching Bollywood films on television by sight levels (N=217)
Sight level Not interested Watch often Total
Blind 25% 75% 100%

Partially sighted 35% 66% 100%*
TOTAL 31% 69% 100%
Chi-Square = 2.01, 1 d.f, p=0.103 (Not Significant) N of valid cases 217.

*Figures rounded to nearest whole number.
When comparing groups by sight level, no significant difference was found between
those who reported that they were blind and those who reported that they were
partially sighted in terms of how regularly they watched Bollywood films on television
(p=0.103).
Table 11 shows frequency of watching Bollywood films on television by age groups.
39
(Note: Those who never watched Bollywood films on television were categorised as
“not interested”, whereas those who watched between once a day and once a month
were categorised as “watch often”)
Table 11. Watching Bollywood films on television by age groups (N=217)
Age group Not interested Watch often Total
Young adult (18-44) 21% 80% 100%*

Middle age (45-74) 38% 62% 100%
Older adult (75+) 30% 70% 100%
TOTAL 31% 69% 100%
Chi-Square = 3.99, 2 d.f, p=0.135 (Not significant). N of valid cases 217.

*Figures rounded to nearest whole number.
No significant difference was found between age groups in terms of how regularly they
watched Bollywood films on television (p=0.135).
4.4.2. Watching a Bollywood film on the DVD

Table 12 shows how respondents reported their frequency of watching Bollywood films
on a DVD.
Table 12. How often do you currently watch Bollywood films on DVD?
Age group Frequency Per cent Cum %
About once a day 14 5.6% 5.6%

About a couple of times a week 15 6% 11.5%
About once a week 20 7.9% 19.4%
About once a fortnight 9 3.6% 23%
About once a month 21 8.3% 31.3%
About once every three months 30 11.9% 43.3%
About once a year 24 9.5% 52.8%
Never 119 47.2% 100%
TOTAL 252 100%
40
Table 12 shows that one in five watched a Bollywood film on DVD at least once a
week, but almost half (47 per cent) of the respondents never watched Bollywood films
on DVD. This is probably because a significant number of the respondents did not own
or did not have access to, or found it difficult to use a DVD player. (See table 15 for
further details.)
Table 13 shows the frequency of watching Bollywood films on DVD by sight level.
(Note: Sight level groupings are based on self-reported assessment as blind or partially
sighted. Those who never watched Bollywood films on TV were categorised as “not
interested”, whereas those who watched between once a day and once a month were
categorised as “watch often”)
Table 13. Watching Bollywood films on DVD by sight levels (N=198)
Sight level Not interested Watch often Total
Blind 55% 45% 100%

Partially sighted 63% 37% 100%
TOTAL 60% 40% 100%
Chi-Square = 1.01, 1 d.f, p=0.198 Not Significant (p=NS). N of valid cases 198
partially sighted in terms of how regularly they watched Bollywood films on DVD
(p=0.198).
Table 14 shows the frequency of watching Bollywood films on DVD by age groups.
(Note: Those who never watched Bollywood films on TV were categorised as “not
interested”, whereas those who watched between once a day and once a month were
categorised as “watch often”.)
41
Table 14. Watching Bollywood films on DVD by age groups (N=198)
Age group Not interested Watch often Total
Young adult (18-44) 31% 69% 100%

Middle age (45-74) 62% 38% 100%
Older adult (75+) 71% 29% 100%
TOTAL 60% 40% 100%
Chi-Square = 17.40, 2 d.f, p=0.000 (p<0.001). N of valid cases 198

Table 14 shows a significant difference (p< 0.001) between age groups in terms of
their regularity in watching Bollywood films on DVD. Younger respondents (18-44)
were more likely to watch Bollywood films often on DVD than older respondents.
4.4.3. Factors that affect the viewing of Bollywood films

When asked to identify factors that stopped them from watching Bollywood films on
television or DVD, 20 per cent of the respondents said that they were not interested in
watching Bollywood films. A further four per cent of the respondents stated that they
were not interested in watching television or DVD at all. However, over 42 per cent of
the respondents reported that they did not watch Bollywood films either on television
or DVD as a result of their sight problem. Another 14 per cent of the respondents
stated that they were either unfamiliar with DVD players or found them too difficult to
operate.
Table 15 (overleaf) shows the factors which stopped respondents from watching
Bollywood films on television or DVD.
42
Table 15. Factors that stop you watching Bollywood films on TV or DVD
Multiple responses Frequency Percent
I find it difficult to follow Bollywood films because of

108 42%
my sight problem
I am not interested in watching Bollywood films 53 20%
Nothing stops me from watching Bollywood films on
46 18%
television or DVD
I find it too difficult to use a DVD player 36 14%
I find it too difficult to use a television 25 10%
I do not own a DVD player 19 7%
I don’t have time to watch television or DVDs 18 7%
I have no access to a DVD player 17 7%
I am not interested in watching television or DVD 9 4%
Other 5 2%
I do not own a television 4 2%
I have no access to a television 1 0%
TOTAL 260
Further investigation of these responses by sight level and age groups is set out
overleaf.
(Note: “Find too difficult” consists of respondents who found it too difficult to follow
Bollywood films due to their sight problem, and those who found it difficult to use a
TV/DVD player; “Not interested” consists of those who were specifically not interested
in Bollywood films and those who were not interested in watching TV/DVD in general).
43
Table 16. Factors that prevent viewing of Bollywood films on TV or DVD by sight
levels
Whole sample Partially sighted
Blind (N=88)
(N=260) (N=172)
Find too difficult
52% 87% 37%
to use
Not interested 22% 8% 29%
Nothing stops me 18% 7% 23%
Note: This was a multicode question meaning some respondents may have chosen
more than one response. This table shows the percentages of each group who chose
particular responses.
When comparing groups by sight level in terms of factors that prevent viewing of
Bollywood films on TV or DVD, table 16 shows that a higher proportion of blind
respondents reported finding it too difficult to operate a TV/DVD player (87 per cent
compared to 37 per cent partially sighted). A higher proportion (29 per cent) of the
partially sighted respondents was not interested in watching Bollywood films on TV or
DVD compared to the blind respondents (8 per cent). Likewise, a higher proportion of
the partially sighted group reported that nothing stopped them from watching
Bollywood films on TV or DVD.
Table 17. Factors that prevent viewing of Bollywood films on TV or DVD by age
group
Whole
Young adult Middle aged Older adult
sample
(N=56) (N=100) (N=104)
(N=260)
Find too difficult
52% 39% 54% 58%
to use
Not interested 22% 11% 28% 22%
Nothing stops me 18% 12% 14% 13%
44
It was found that a similar proportion (over 50 per cent) of respondents from the
middle and older age groups reported difficulty in operating equipment which
prevented them from watching Bollywood films on TV or DVD. The younger age group,
meanwhile, were less affected (39 per cent) compared to the middle and older age
groups by the difficulty experienced operating equipment. A higher proportion of the
middle and older age group respondents reported no interest in watching Bollywood
films on TV or DVD (28 per cent and 22 per cent respectively), while only 11 per cent
of the younger age group said they were not interested in watching Bollywood films
on TV or DVD.
One possible explanation for the lack of interest in Bollywood films expressed by one
in five respondents could be the presence of a large number of Asian and mainstream
satellite television channels offering a wide range of entertainment content. As these
programmes typically have a high level of verbal content they may be more readily
understood by blind and partially sighted people than films with complex dream
sequences and songs.
4.5. Key finding 3: About cinema viewing habits

4.5.1. Watching Bollywood films at the cinema
Sixty six per cent of the respondents (172) reported that they never went to a cinema.
In such a scenario, it is perhaps not surprising that a large proportion of the
respondents stated that they never visited a cinema to watch a Bollywood film, as
these locations were often perceived to be ‘unfriendly’ or ‘unwelcoming’ for blind and
partially sighted people. (See the next section – ‘Factors that affect viewing of
Bollywood films in a cinema for further details).
Amongst the sample, those who said that they go to the cinema (34 per cent) were
then asked how often they watched Bollywood films in a cinema. Results are shown in
table 18 overleaf.
45
Table 18. How often do you currently watch Bollywood films in the cinema?
Frequency Percent Cum %
About once a day 7 8% 8%

About a couple of times a week 3 3% 18%
About once a week 6 7% 15%
About once a fortnight 9 10% 28%
About once a month 15 17% 45%
About once every three months 11 13% 58%
About twice a year 10 11% 69%
About once a year 27 31% 100%
TOTAL 100%
In terms of watching Bollywood films in a cinema by sight level (table 19), the result
was similar to the pattern of watching Bollywood films on television and DVD as
indicated earlier (see tables 10-14).
Table 19 shows the frequency of watching Bollywood films by sight levels. (Note: Sight
level groupings are based on self-reported assessment as blind or partially sighted.
Those who never watched Bollywood films at the cinema were categorised as “don’t
watch”, whereas those who watched between once a day and once a month were
categorised as “watch often”).
Table 19. Watching Bollywood films in the cinema by sight levels (N=212)
Sight level Don’t watch Watch often Total
Blind 85% 15% 100%

TOTAL 81% 19% 100%
Chi-Square = 0.92, 1 d.f, p=0.222 (Not significant). N of valid cases 212
partially sighted in terms of how regularly they watched Bollywood films at the cinema
(p=0.222).
46
Table 20 shows the frequency of watching Bollywood films in a cinema by age groups.
(Note: Those who never watched Bollywood films at the cinema were categorised as
“don’t watch”, whereas those who watched between once a day and once a month
were categorised as “watch often”.)
Table 20. Watching Bollywood films in the cinema by age groups (N=212)
Age group Don’t watch Watch often Total
Young adult (18-44) 71% 29% 100%

Middle age (45-74) 80% 20% 100%
Older adult (75+) 87% 13% 100%
TOTAL 81% 19% 100%

When comparing age groups, no significant difference was found between age groups
in terms of how regularly they watched Bollywood films at the cinema (p=0.087).
4.5.2. Factors that affect the viewing of Bollywood films at the cinema
A significant number of respondents (40 per cent) believed that their current sight
level was a major factor that prevented them from going to the cinema to watch
Bollywood films (Table 21). Just over a quarter of the respondents (27 per cent) stated
that they found it exceedingly difficult to travel to a cinema while six per cent said
they didn’t have a cinema showing Bollywood films in close proximity to where they
lived. Only a small number of respondents (five per cent) said that they did not have
time to go the cinema. Interestingly, a sizable proportion (22 per cent) of the
respondents stated that nothing stopped them going to the cinema to watch a
Bollywood film.
47
Table 21. What factors stop you from watching Bollywood films in a cinema?
Find it difficult to follow Bollywood films in the

105 40%
cinema because of current sight level
Find it difficult to travel to the cinema 70 27%
Nothing stops me from watching Bollywood films in
56 22%
the cinema
Not interested in watching Bollywood films 24 9%
Other 21 8%
There are no local cinemas that screen Bollywood
15 5%
films
No time to go to a cinema 13 5%
TOTAL 260
Further investigation of these responses by sight level and age group were as follows:
(Note: rows depict breakdown by sight level and age group for responses shown in
table 21)
Table 22. Factors that prevent viewing of Bollywood films in a cinema by sight
levels
Blind (N=88)
(N=260) (N=172)
Difficult due to sight
40% 65% 28%
problem
Difficult to travel 27% 36% 22%
Not interested 9% 11% 8%
Nothing stops me 22% 10% 27%
Table 22 shows that 65 per cent of blind people and 28 per cent of partially sighted
people find it difficult to watch Bollywood films due to their sight problem.
48
Similarly a higher proportion of blind people cited ‘difficult to travel’ as a factor

preventing them from watching Bollywood films (36 per cent) compared to partially
sighted people (22 per cent). A higher proportion of partially sighted people reported
that nothing stops them from viewing Bollywood films at the cinema.
Table 23. Factors that prevent viewing of Bollywood films in a cinema by age
groups
Whole
sample
(N=56) (N=100) (N=104)
(N=260)
Difficult due to sight
40% 20% 39% 53%
problem
Difficult to travel 27% 21% 25% 32%
Not interested 9% 13% 8% 9%
Nothing stops me 22% 30% 22% 16%
Table 23 shows that a higher proportion of the older age group reported having
difficulty going to the cinema due to their sight problem. Difficulty travelling also
seemed to increase with age.
A higher proportion of respondents in the younger age group reported that nothing
stops them from viewing Bollywood films at the cinema.
4.5.3 Strategies for watching Bollywood films in a cinema

Respondents were asked to respond to a multiple choice question on how they
watched or followed a Bollywood film in a cinema currently.
12 per cent of the respondents stated that they tried to pick up as much
information as possible from the soundtrack/audio clues in the film.
11 per cent stated that they either asked someone typically but not always, a friend
or family member, to explain to them what was happening on the screen.
eight per cent reported that they used their residual eye sight to watch a film.
49
4.6. About AD
During the interview, respondents were asked if they had ever heard of AD before the
survey. The responses were as follows:
56 per cent of the respondents stated that that they had never heard of AD;
27 per cent of the respondents said that they had heard about AD but did not know
what AD involved.
12 per cent of the respondents said that they had heard of AD and were aware of its
features.
five per cent of the respondents stated that they were aware of AD and had used it.
Table 24 shows awareness of AD by sight levels. (Note: Sight level groupings are based
on self-reported assessment as blind or partially sighted. Those who had used AD
previously, or were aware of its features were categorised as “aware”, whereas those
who had never heard of AD or had heard of it but did not know what the medium
involved were categorised as “not aware”.)
Table 24. Awareness of AD by sight levels (N=230)
Sight level Aware Not aware Total
Blind 28% 72% 100%

TOTAL 19% 81% 100%
Chi-Square =6.63, 1 d.f, p=0.009 (p<0.01). N of valid cases 230

When comparing groups by sight level, a significant difference was found between
partially sighted in terms of their awareness of AD (p<0.01). The results show that the
awareness of AD was higher amongst blind respondents as compared to partially
sighted respondents (as shown in table 24).
Table 25 (overleaf) shows awareness of AD by age group. (Note: Those who has used
AD previously, or who knew of its use were categorised as “aware”, whereas those who
had not heard of AD or had heard of it but did not know what it was were categorised
as “not aware”.)
50
Table 25. Awareness of AD by age group (N=230)
Age group Aware Not aware Total
Young adult (18-44) 36% 64% 100%

Middle age (45-74) 16% 84% 100%
Older adult (75+) 12% 88% 100%
TOTAL 19% 81% 100%
Chi-Square =12.33, 1 d.f, p=0.002 (p<0.01). N of valid cases 230
When comparing groups by age group, a significant difference was found between age
groups in terms of their awareness of AD (p<0.001). The results show that the
awareness of AD was higher amongst younger respondents.
All respondents were asked to listen to an audio described clip from a Bollywood film
before responding to the next question, “Are you more likely to watch a Bollywood film
with AD than without it?”
Figure 3 below shows that 57 per cent of the respondents stated that on the basis of
their experience of having an audio described clip from a Bollywood film, they would
prefer to watch an audio described rather than a non audio described Bollywood film.
This suggests that there is a demand for audio described Bollywood films in the UK.
Figure 3. Likelihood of watching audio described Bollywood films compared to
non-audio described Bollywood films
30%
57%
13%
51
16 per cent of respondents said that they would be less likely to watch audio described
Bollywood films. However, it is also noteworthy that a number of respondents (30 per
cent) were not sure whether they would be more or less likely to watch a Bollywood
film with AD. Amongst other reasons, the most significant factor that came up was
that accessing AD through television, DVD (or cinema) would require a change in
viewing behaviour. For example, to enable AD on television, irrespective of the
platform – Freeview, Cable or Satellite – one is required to navigate through various
on-screen menus using the remote control. For many blind and partially sighted first-
time or novice users of AD, this a daunting prospect. Furthermore, it has already been
established that a significant number of respondents found it difficult to engage with
the buttons on the remote control which only complicates matters. It seems likely,
therefore, that the introduction of more accessible technology would significantly
boost demand for AD amongst those who are nervous about its current complexity.
Table 26 shows reported likelihood of watching audio described Bollywood films by
sight level. (Note: Sight level groupings are based on self-reported assessment as blind
or partially sighted.)
Table 26. Likelihood of watching audio described Bollywood films compared to
non-audio described Bollywood films by sight levels (N=183)
Sight level More likely Less likely Total
Blind 87% 13% 100%

TOTAL 81% 19% 100%
Chi-Square = 2.88, 1 d.f, p=0.064 (p<0.10). N of valid cases 183.

Table 26 shows marginally significant difference in terms of reported likelihood of
watching audio described Bollywood films between sight levels. Those who reported
that they were blind were slightly more likely to report a likelihood of watching audio
described Bollywood films, although the difference between the two groups was not
large.
Overall, the majority of respondents across all sight levels reported that they would be
more likely to watch Bollywood films if they were audio described.
52
Table 27 shows reported likelihood of watching audio described Bollywood films by

age groups.
Table 27. Likelihood of watching audio described Bollywood films compared to
non-audio described Bollywood films by age group (N=183)
Age group More likely Less likely Total
Young adult (18-44) 68% 32% 100%

Middle age (45-74) 81% 19% 100%
Older adult (75+) 88% 12% 100%
TOTAL 81% 19% 100%

Table 27 shows a significant difference in terms of the reported likelihood of watching
audio described Bollywood films between age groups. While across all age groups, the
majority of respondents reported that they were more likely to watch audio described
Bollywood films, this was less pronounced in the younger age group, where a larger
proportion (32 per cent) reported they would be less likely to watch Bollywood films if
they were audio described.
4.7. Preferred mediums for accessing information about

new products/services
The last question in the research topic guide dealt with methods preferred by Asian
blind and partially sighted people for accessing information about new services or new
products. Once established these preferred mediums could then potentially be used to
create awareness about services such as availability of AD on UK television channels.
The rank order of most popular sources was:
family and friends
radio
television
local organisations
talking newspapers.
53
4.7.1. Top five general sources of information

Please see figure 4 for further details of the ranking.
Figure 4. Top five sources of information (N=260)
Figure 4 shows the top five sources of information for products and/or services for
blind and partially sighted people as chosen by respondents in this study were
established as:
49.2 per cent of the respondents reported family and friends as a source of
information
40.8 per cent of the respondents reported radio as a method for accessing
information
33.8 per cent of the respondents selected television as one of their significant
mediums for getting information
28.1 per cent of the respondents selected local organisations as a method for
getting information
19.6 per cent of the respondents chose talking newspapers as a source for
information about services/products for blind and partially sighted people.
While respondents also chose other sources of information, figure 4 above only shows
the top five sources.
The top five sources of information were also considered by sight level and age groups.
54
Table 28. General sources of information by sight levels

Blind (N=88)
(N=260) (N=172)
Radio 41% 48% 37%
Television 34% 26% 38%
Friends/family 49% 34% 57%
Local organisations 28% 45% 19%
Talking newspapers 20% 33% 13%
Table 28 shows that a higher proportion of blind respondents (48 per cent) use radio
as their source of information compared to partially sighted respondents (37 per cent).
There was also a difference between groups when comparing television as a source of
information for the blind (26 per cent) and partially sighted (38 per cent) respondents.
A higher proportion of the partially sighted respondents (57 per cent) used their
friends and family as a source of information whilst 34 per cent of blind respondents
used the same source. 45 per cent of blind respondents utilised local organisations for
information whilst 19 per cent of partially sighted respondents utilised the same for
information. Talking newspapers were used as a source of information by 33 per cent of
blind respondents and 13 per cent of partially sighted respondents.
Table 29. General sources of Information by age groups
Whole
sample
(N=56) (N=100) (N=104)
(N=260)
Radio 41% 50% 36% 40%
Television 34% 32% 34% 35%
Friends/family 49% 43% 53% 49%
Local organisations 28% 20% 24% 37%
Talking newspapers 20% 5% 19% 28%
55
Table 29 shows that 50 per cent of respondents from the younger age group used the
radio as a source of information, whilst the middle and older age groups used the same
source comparatively less at 36 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. Television as a
source of information was used by the younger (32 per cent), middle (34 per cent) and
older (35 per cent) age groups at similar proportions. The younger age group reported
using friends and family as a source of information slightly less than the other groups
(43 per cent, compared to 53 per cent and 49 per cent). A higher proportion of older
respondents reported using local organisations as a source of information (37 per cent,
compared to 24 per cent middle age and 20 per cent younger). Likewise, use of talking
newspapers as a source of information appeared to increase with age (5 per cent
younger group, 19 per cent middle, 28 per cent older).
4.7.2. Radio as a source for information

After family and friends, radio emerged as the most popular source of information for
respondents. Amongst the 63 respondents who chose radio as one their preferred
mediums for sourcing information on products/services for blind and partially sighted
people:
16 people chose Sunrise Radio
14 people chose the BBC Asian Network
8 people chose Kismat Radio
6 people chose Sabras Radio
4 people chose Radio Punjab
2 people chose Virgin Radio
2 people mentioned getting their information from various digital radio stations
2 people chose the LBC Radio service
2 people chose Leicester Radio
1 person each chose Akash Radio, 87.9 FM, and Talk Sport Radio
1 person mentioned Asian radio stations in general.
56
4.7.3. Television as a source for information

After radio, television proved to be the most popular source for information for blind
and partially sighted Asian people in the UK. From the data collected, it is evident that
Zee TV was the most popular channel amongst respondents, followed by Star Plus,
B4U, 4TV and the BBC.
Amongst the 22 respondents who chose television as one their preferred mediums for
sourcing information on products/services for blind and partially sighted people:
6 people chose the ZEE television network
3 people each chose the BBC network, Star Plus entertainment channel, B4U
network and 4TV (online resource for free television viewing).
2 people chose Sony Entertainment Network
1 person each chose varied sports channels and Alpha Punjabi.
4.7.4. Talking Newspapers as a source for information

Talking Newspapers were the next most popular source for information amongst the
target audience of this research.
Amongst the 52 respondents who chose newspapers and magazines as one their
preferred mediums for sourcing information on products/services for blind and partially
sighted people:
38 people chose the Gujarati Talking Newspaper, produced and distributed by the
Vista Community Centre in Leicester
6 people chose the Leicester Mercury Talking Newspaper, again produced and
distributed by the Vista Community Centre in Leicester
4 people chose the Gujarati News-line
2 people chose the London based Kiran Talking Newspaper which is available in 3
languages – Hindi, Gujarati and Bengali
2 people chose Hindi Talking Newspapers in general.
With the exception of Kiran Talking Newspaper, which has a Bengali, a Gujarati and a
Hindi version, other talking newspapers are either targeted at specific language groups
or at populations in particular localities.
57
4.7.5. Mainstream newspapers and magazines as a source for information

Mainstream newspapers and magazines were also an important source of information
for accessing data on products and services for blind and partially sighted people.
Amongst the 13 respondents who chose newspapers and magazines as one their
preferred mediums for sourcing information on products/services for blind and partially
sighted people:
6 people chose the Daily Jung newspaper
2 people each chose the Ausaf Newspaper and RNIB Insight Magazine
1 person each chose a gardening magazine, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail.
4.8. Conclusion
This research project reports on interviews with 260 blind and partially sighted people
from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities spread across London,
Birmingham, Leicester and Bradford in the UK.
4.8.1. Main findings

The main findings of our research study are:
Out of a sample of 260 blind and partially sighted people, only 8 per cent (21) of
the respondents who participated in this study stated that they had no difficulty in
following what was happening on the screen ie film/television programme.
The remaining 92 per cent of the respondents resorted to other methods, such as
using audio clues or asking family members or friends to explain to them what was
going on, to help them understand what was happening in a film/television
programme. Close to 50 per cent of the sample depended heavily on audio clues to
understand a film/television programme.
19 per cent (48) of the respondents said they watched a Bollywood film on
television everyday despite accessibility issues. No significant difference was found
in the level of frequency of watching Bollywood films between blind people and
partially sighted people. However, there was a difference when comparisons were
drawn between various age categories of the viewers; respondents between the ages
of 18-44 came across as more interested in watching Bollywood films on television
than their older counterparts.
58
About six per cent (14) of the sample stated that they watched a Bollywood film on
DVD about once a day. Similarly as above, no significant difference was found in the
level of frequency of watching Bollywood films amongst blind people and partially
sighted people. However, there was a difference when it came to various age
categories of the viewers; respondents between the ages of 18-44 were seemingly
more interested in watching Bollywood films on DVD than their older counterparts.
The number of people from the sample visiting a cinema to watch a Bollywood film
in the UK was very low when compared to the incidence of people from the sample
watching films on the television. About 15 per cent (13) said they watched a
Bollywood film in a cinema about once a week. A significant number of respondents,
40 per cent (105), believed that their current sight level led to lack of complete
understanding of the film and was a major factor that prevented them from going to
the cinema to watch Bollywood films.
4.8.2. Current level of awareness of AD and a further likelihood of

watching a Bollywood film with AD if introduced
The research found that only five per cent of the respondents had any previous
experience of AD. Only 16 per cent of respondents were aware of AD but were not
aware of its features and what it had to offer. This indicates that there is a significant
lack of awareness about AD amongst blind and partially sighted Asians in the UK.
Overall, the study found that once introduced to AD, over 56 per cent of the
respondents stated that they were more likely to watch a Bollywood film that was
audio described than without it. However, a small percentage (14 per cent), of the
respondents failed to express a keen interest in watching audio described Bollywood
films. It is significant to point out that the middle-aged (36 per cent) and the older
respondents (45 per cent) were more likely to watch a Bollywood film than many of
their younger counterparts (19 per cent).
The research findings suggest that there is a considerable amount of interest in
Bollywood films amongst blind and partially sighted Asian people in the UK. This is
despite the fact that a relatively small number of people are currently going to the
cinema on a regular basis to watch Bollywood films.
59
4.8.3. Potential for audio described Bollywood films in the UK

The findings do outline a strong case for the introduction of AD to Bollywood films for
sound economic and business reasons. As of now, there are numerous accessibility
barriers for blind and partially sighted people to be able to fully engage with
Bollywood films in their current format. Clearly, it is not only the blind and partially
sighted Asian community that stand to benefit from this introduction but the film
industry as well, who could potentially be widening their audience base if AD is added
to Bollywood films.
It is also important to stress that the introduction of AD to improve Bollywood film
viewing experience for blind and partially sighted Asian people in the UK, may also
benefit a similar blind and partially sighted community living in the Indian
subcontinent. For example, Pokharel and Mariotti (2004) estimate that India alone
accounts for 6.7 million of the estimated 161 million blind or partially sighted persons
worldwide. It should also be noted that the use of AD in Bollywood films will also have
a significant impact on blind and partially sighted people of Asian origin living in
Diaspora communities in North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East (as well as
those from non-Asian backgrounds that are interested in Bollywood films).
It becomes crucial to mention here that none of the above can be achieved without
the co-operation of the Indian film industry, popularly known as Bollywood.
Consequently, the biggest challenge is to create awareness about AD amongst the key
film companies in Bollywood and the potential it has to bridge the gap in accessibility
for a blind or partially sighted person.
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5. Qualitative research study
5.1 Executive summary
The main purpose of this qualitative study was to provide insights into the Bollywood
film viewing habits of blind and partially sighted Asians living in the UK and in India. It
was further intended to shed some light on the barriers to viewing these films and to
determine their views on the concept of audio described Bollywood films. In-depth
semi-structured interviews were used to understand the current mode and frequency
of watching Bollywood films within the target group, and to gather views on the level
and style of audio description (AD), language, and other preferences to help identify
the potential for AD in Bollywood films.
The research sought to establish whether the concept of audio described Bollywood
films was able to generate a significant amount of interest in the UK and in India.
Following on from this, a secondary aim was to establish the preferred method for
viewing these films amongst the group.
This in-depth qualitative research project investigated behaviours, attitudes and
barriers to watching Bollywood films among 25 blind or partially sighted Asians living
in the UK and 25 blind or partially sighted people in India. Respondents were aged
between 8 and 85 years and the sample included regular and occasional viewers of
Bollywood films. In the UK, participants were recruited from areas with a high
percentage of Asian population as per the government population census of 2001. In
India, interviewees were recruited from the All India Federation of the Blind, National
Association for the Blind, and Blind People’s Association.
The majority of people enjoyed watching Bollywood films or had done so before they
developed sight problems. They found it hard to understand the film with their current
visual impairment. Consequently, their enjoyment of the film was reduced. The
outcome showed that almost everyone who participated in the study was positive
about the addition of AD to Bollywood films. This was especially pertinent because
only a minority of respondents currently use AD and it was essentially a new concept
for many of those interviewed.
Results from the qualitative study indicated that:
Blind and partially sighted Asian people stated that they were more likely to watch
Bollywood films if AD was provided.
Enjoyment of the Bollywood film clip was much greater with AD than without it.
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AD improved understanding of the film clip for blind and partially sighted people,
with people reporting a greater grasp of location, characters, expressions and the
plot.
People wanted AD during songs as well as in the standard story in order to follow
what was happening on the screen.
The majority of the interviewees preferred AD in Hindi, compared with description in
English. People commented that this was the language of the film, hence making
the ‘flow’ simpler and easier to understand and enjoy.
Findings from the trials in the UK and India were similar in nature, with the only
differentiating factor being that people in India asked for fewer details, such as details
of the clothes that the characters were wearing in the film clip and their significance,
in the description. This could be because of increased familiarity with Bollywood films
and their overall set-up. The study showed that there is a huge unmet need for audio
described Bollywood films in the UK and India with a clear preference for the
description to be in Hindi. This provision has the potential to have a significant
emotional impact on the lives of blind and partially sighted people who love films and
view them as an all-encompassing experience providing a blissful escape from the daily
humdrum of ordinary existence.
5.2. Introduction to AD and the relevant film industry

Watching films and visiting the cinema are popular activities for many people, including
blind and partially sighted people. Major UK distributors for Hollywood films such as
Warner Bros Distributors, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK, Twentieth Century
Fox Film Corporation, Paramount Pictures UK, Universal Pictures UK, Pathé
Distribution and Sony Pictures Releasing increase the accessibility of their films by pro-
viding subtitling for deaf and hearing impaired audiences and audio description (AD)
for blind and partially sighted people on almost one hundred per cent of their UK
releases.
As per the information available on www.yourlocalcinema.com, more than 300 cinemas

of the total 727 cinemas across the UK are now equipped with a system that provides
an AD service. AD is delivered through a special headset that is collected from the box
office and worn in the cinema during the screening. In addition, the majority of
Hollywood DVD distributors include AD on their UK mainstream DVD releases.
The Indian film industry, popularly known as Bollywood, produces close to 800 films
per year, making it not only the dominant national film industry, but perhaps the
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largest in the world. Adlabs Films, Studio 18, Eros International, Yash Raj Films and
UTV distribute the lion’s share of Bollywood and Indian film releases. Key territories
include the UK, the US, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, aside from the
home ground distribution. For the Asian diaspora spread across the globe, these films
perhaps act as an important cultural connection to their roots. The Indian Film Industry
too, is equally keen to reach out to its global audience of Indian origin. In 2006, out of
53 Bollywood releases in the UK, four grossed more than £1m and the segment
accounted for almost 2 per cent of the entire UK market. (Factsheet on UK Cinema
going, 2006, Film Distributor’s Association.)
Bollywood films are released with English language subtitles in the overseas markets
which primarily target foreign language speakers, but these subtitles also improve the
accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing people. In contrast, AD is not provided on
any Bollywood film. As a result, the films continue to remain completely inaccessible to
blind and partially sighted people.
Saksham Trust, a voluntary organisation based in New Delhi has experimented with the
concept of audio described Bollywood films. It has produced audio described versions
of popular films such as “Black”, “Munnabhai MBBS”, and “Hanuman”, amongst
others. These films are produced as special products for blind people with a single
mixed audio track which includes the AD. Video CDs of these films are sold at a
nominal price to members of associations working for blind and partially sighted
people in India. They can also be ordered over the phone or by email. But despite its
popularity within the associations, the product fails to reach the majority of the target
audience because of a limited distribution network.
Through this research, RNIB sought to investigate the potential demand for audio
described Bollywood films, both in the mainstream cinema and on mainstream DVDs,
and make recommendations on how best to provide this service.
While we understand that there is a worldwide audience for Bollywood films, the focus
of this research was on establishing whether there was a demand for AD from blind
and partially sighted Asian people living in the UK and India only. RNIB, as a UK
charity, is interested in both: improving access to Bollywood films for blind and
partially sighted people living in the UK and in working collaboratively with other
organisations representing blind and partially sighted people around the world.
As the Bollywood film industry is based in India, the opinions of the Indian domestic
audience were also taken into account to add weight to this research. In reality, any
introduction of AD on Bollywood films is likely to benefit blind and partially sighted
people around the world who watch Bollywood films.
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5.2.1. Aims and objectives

The qualitative research aimed to:
Explore Bollywood film viewing habits of blind and partially sighted people within
the Asian community in the UK and in India.
Investigate their attitude towards AD.
Investigate their specific preferences and needs in relation to AD of Bollywood films.
Investigate response to audio description over songs.
Please note that while 50 interviews were completed, the findings are not necessarily
representative of all those who watch or do not watch Bollywood films. However, these
results provide valuable insights into people’s viewing habits and attitudes to
Bollywood films and AD.
In order to establish the existence of a potential market for audio described Bollywood
films in the UK, a parallel quantitative study was carried out amongst 260 blind and
partially sighted people from the Asian community who are interested in Bollywood
films in the UK. Details of this study can be found in chapter 4 of this report.
5.2.2. Approach
This study involved individual in-depth interviews with a total of 50 blind and partially
sighted Asian people (25 people living in the UK and 25 people living in India). A
Bollywood film clip with and without AD was played during each interview. All the
interviews were conducted face to face, with the majority lasting between 30-45
minutes.
In each case, a semi-structured questionnaire and topic guide were used as reference,
with scope to explore other related issues or topics which arose during the interview.
Informed consent to participate in the study and for the interview to be recorded for
transcription was obtained from all participants. Respondent demographics were also
obtained during the interviews.
The topic guide is attached as Appendix 1.
In brief, participants were shown a three-minute clip from a film without AD followed
by questions based on the clip, to ascertain their understanding of the clip. The same
clip was then played with AD in the language preferred by the respondent, (the
choices being Hindi or English). This was then followed by the same set of questions,
to gauge any change in their understanding of the clip.
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Respondents were then played the clip a third time, this time with the AD in the
alternate language (Hindi/English). Respondents were then asked to provide views and
information on AD language preferences.
The clip was played on a laptop and large headphones were used to listen to the clip
to maintain the aural clarity.
The rationale for selecting this method was:
People with visual impairments often suffer from additional disabilities including
hearing impairments; hence a face to face interview was considered appropriate with
large headphones being used to hear the clip to shut out the surrounding noise.
The semi-structured questioning approach allowed considerable flexibility in the
discussion, allowing the researcher to probe further when required.
This was deemed to be the best method to capture how AD makes a difference in
the viewing of films by blind and partially sighted people.
5.2.3. Sample
The in-depth qualitative research project was completed with participation from 25
blind and partially sighted Asians living across the UK, and a further 25 blind and
partially sighted people in India.
The sample consisted of people with varying levels of visual impairment, of different
ages and gender, regular and non-regular viewers of Bollywood films, regular or
occasional users of AD and non-users of AD.
UK sample
Three geographical areas within the UK were chosen based on the regional distribution
of the Asian community as per the government population census of 2001. (Fig.1)
London
Bradford and Leeds in Yorkshire
Coventry and Birmingham in the West Midlands
Altogether:
4 people in Bradford with varying sight impairments were interviewed at Bradnet, a
local organisation for people with disabilities
9 people in Leeds were interviewed at the annual meeting of the Asian Blind
Association
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6 people were interviewed in Coventry at the fortnightly gathering of local

community-based group
6 people were interviewed in London through referrals by Kiran Talking newspaper.
Figure 1. Regional distribution of Asian communities
Source: Office for National Statistics, April 2001 Census. The Census recorded an Asian
community of 733,587 in London; 364,590 in the West Midlands; 215,227 in the
North West; 210,172 in Yorkshire and the Humber; 163,106 in the South East; 157,035
in the East Midlands; 108,281 in the East; 48,805 in Scotland; 30,332 in the North
East; 27,971 in the South West; 21,947 in Wales and 2,508 in Northern Ireland.
The participants were found through the RNIB Black and Minority Ethnic support
team’s networks within the Asian community, opportunistic sampling, and peer
referrals.
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Indian sample
Research trials in India were conducted with support from the All India Federation of
the Blind and National Association for the Blind in New Delhi and Blind People’s
Association in Ahmedabad. The distribution of the respondents was as follows:
11 people were interviewed at All India Federation of the Blind, New Delhi.
7 people were interviewed at the National Association for the Blind, New Delhi
7 people were interviewed at Blind People’s Association, Ahmedabad.
The only differentiating feature between the UK and the Indian sample was the
additional age bracket for respondents in India. Even though their participation was
purely coincidental, respondents between the ages of 8-17 years from India added an
extra dimension to the study and made the report even more comprehensive in terms
of its sample. Consent to participate was obtained from the parent or guardian for
children under 16 years.
5.2.4. Film material

A three-minute clip from the Hindi film, “Saawariya” was used in this study. The film
was released by Sony Pictures Entertainment in November 2007. The AD for the
material was produced by Independent Television Facilities Centre (ITFC) Limited in
association with RNIB specifically for the purpose of this study.
The user trial presented the respondents with the audio described clip in two
languages: Hindi, being the language of Bollywood films, and English, as it would be
the first language of some respondents living in the UK. It should be noted here that,
more often than not, a mix of the two languages was used for the interviews so the
dominant language used has been specified as the language of the interview.
In the English version, the clip included voiced English subtitles along with the AD so
that a blind or partially sighted non-Hindi speaker who watches Bollywood films could
understand the clip. The Hindi version only included a Hindi AD track. This difference
was picked up by respondents, as discussed in the section on language preferences.
In brief, the film is about a free spirited dreamer, who arrives in a surreal town and
charms everyone with his naiveté and innocent charm. It is an anonymous town
washed in blue light, where houses and buildings stand beside wide canals with
gondolas floating by.
Essentially, a romantic film, “Saawariya” was overwhelmingly visual, and one of the
foremost reasons for choosing this film for use in the research was its heavily visual
dramatic presentation, something most often missed by blind and partially sighted
people.
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A song was deliberately included in the research material to assess how people would
react to description over songs. The majority of Bollywood films have a significant
amount of musical content and these song and dance routines are woven into the
script. A film’s success often depends on the quality of such musical numbers.
5.3. Results
5.3.1. A summary of characteristics of participants
50 blind or partially sighted people were interviewed in total; 25 people in India and
25 people in the UK.
41 people were interviewed in Hindi and 9 were interviewed in English
The respondents were between the ages of 8 to 87 years. The sample was
intentionally kept diverse in age as it could potentially influence the choice that the
respondent would make with regards to style, format and language of AD. (Fig. 2,
Fig. 3)
Figure 2. Age spread of the 25 respondents in the UK
Two people were aged 18-24; one was aged 25-34; six were aged 35-44; one was
aged 45-54; six were aged 55-64; four were aged 65-74; four were aged 75-84; and
one was aged 85+.
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Figure 3. Age spread of the 25 respondents in India
Four people were aged 8-17; two were aged 18-24; six were aged 25-34; two were
aged 35-44; two were aged 45-54; one was aged 55-64; three were aged 65-74; four
were aged 75-84; and one was aged 85+.
5.3.2. Level of sight impairment

The second question in the topic guide was included to gather information on what
the respondents were able to see. The interviewees were asked to select all the options
that applied to them.
From the sample in the UK, 11 people were registered blind, 5 registered as partially
sighted and 9 people were not registered in either of the two categories. We were
unable to collect any such data from our sample in India as the method of certification
in the country only mentions the kind of disability, ie visual impairment.
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Table 1. Level of sight impairment
I can see well enough to recognise a friend

2 4%
across the road.
8 16%
across a room
18 36%
who is at arms length away
I can see well enough to recognise a friend if
26 52%
you get close to his or her face
I can see the shapes of the furniture in a room 30 60%
In a room during daytime, I can tell by the light
36 72%
where the windows are
I cannot see anything at all 14 28%
Prefer not to say 0 0%
Total number of participants 50
From the sample, only 2 people said they would be able to recognise a friend from
across a road, 8 said that they would be able to recognise a friend from across the
room, 18 people confirmed that would be able to recognise a friend who is an arms
length away and 26 people said that they would be able to recognise a person if they
got really close to his/ her face. 30 people said that they would be able to identify
shapes of furniture in a room; however there were 36 people in the sample who,
during daytime could tell by the light where the windows were located. 14 people
amongst the sample confirmed that they could not see anything at all. (Fig. 5)
This table shows us that overall, the respondents tended to have severe sight
problems, and there was a similar spread of answers amongst the Indian and the UK
respondents.
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5.4. Current viewing habits

5.4.1. Film viewing habits
Most blind and partially sighted people interviewed in the UK watched Bollywood films
at least twice a week on TV or on DVD with a number of them going to the cinema to
watch these films.
Three out of the four biggest cinema chains in the UK – Cineworld, Vue and Odeon,
now routinely screen Hindi films. Overseas collections are now the second largest
contributor to the revenues of the industry at 9 per cent. In 2007, the overseas
collections were estimated at £8.5 billion, up from £7 billion in 2006, translating into a
growth of 21 per cent from the previous year.
But the proportion of blind and partially sighted people watching Bollywood films in
India was much higher where these films are obviously more easily available on
TV/DVD as well as cinemas, potentially indicating a larger market size. Satellite
television has helped cinema reach out to a larger audience. There are more than 15
movie channels in India that broadcast movies round the clock. Two of the prominent
movie channels reach 35-40 per cent of the 40 million Cable and Satellite (C&S)
households in India each week. The four major general entertainment channels show
5-10 movies a week and reach 60-70 per cent of the C&S audience every week. Films
and film based programming account for 25-30 per cent of programming content and
are the key viewership drivers for all general entertainment channels. Films on TV have
become big business, so much so that newly released films air on TV within six months
of their debut in cinemas. (Source: WHO study, “‘Bollywood’ Victim or Ally”, 2003.)
5.4.2. Current methods of watching television/films

A series of questions were asked to establish the level of difficulty respondents
experienced when watching TV. Most respondents reported significant difficulty when
watching TV.
34 people amongst our sample said that they found it difficult to use the remote
control and 36 people had difficulty seeing the picture on the TV screen. 40 people
said that they could not see fine detail on the TV screen and an equal number of
people said that they found it difficult to see text on the TV screen. 34 people could
see the light of the TV screen but 18 people from our sample could not see anything
at all on the TV screen. These findings highlight how sight problems affect people’s TV
watching experience.
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Table 2. When watching TV
I have difficulty seeing the buttons on the remote

34 68%
control
I have difficulty seeing the picture on the TV screen 36 72%
I have difficulty seeing the fine detail on the TV
40 80%
screen
I have difficulty seeing text on the TV screen 40 80%
I am able to see the light of the TV screen 34 68%
I cannot see anything on the TV screen 18 36%
5.4.3. Following films/television programmes on television with the

current level of vision
Some questions were asked to find out what coping strategies people used for
watching TV. 16 people amongst the sample followed a programme/film on the TV
using their residual vision and an equal number of people used stronger glasses. 24
people chose to sit closer to the TV screen and only 2 people said that they used a
magnifier to help follow a programme/film on TV.
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Table 3. Following a programme on TV/DVD
I use my residual sight to watch 16 32%
I wear special stronger glasses 16 32%
I get closer to the TV screen 24 48%

I use a magnifier 2 4%
I adjust the screen settings 6 12%
I adjust the lighting in the room 6 12%
I use a large screen TV 8 16%
I ask my friends or family members to assist me by
38 76%
explaining what happens on the screen
I just try to pick up as much as I can from the sound
46 92%
of the film or programme
I use audio description to explain to me what hap-
8 16%
pens on the screen
6 people changed TV settings and an equal number of people adjusted lighting in the
room to enhance the quality of the image. 8 people used a large screen TV on a
regular basis and only 8 people reported ever having used AD to follow a
programme/film. The majority (38) of people depended on friends/family to help with
what was happening on the screen. 46 people used audio clues as their primary means
of understanding the plot of the programme/film.
The use of audio clues and description by companions were the most used coping
methods.
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Audio clues
The majority of respondents chose audio clues as their primary means of
understanding the screenplay of the film. Having said that, most respondents also
agreed that Bollywood films are very hard to follow by sound only with their over
exhibited dramatics. It was agreed by all that the films have important visual
information integral to the plot, action and story being told.
“I couldn’t [can’t] see the picture clearly but I have become accustomed to
watching my films like this. Films used to be my favourite hobby but they don’t
interest me much these days. How much can you imagine? I end up frustrated.”
Female, 55-64 years, UK
“At times, when I am watching a movie, the sound of the film suddenly goes up
which is generally an indication for me that something has happened or is about to
happen... I don’t come to know... I wait for someone in the film to say something
and then a song starts... very tough to follow!” Male, 18-24 years, UK
Description from companions

After reliance on audio alone, the second most popular method of understanding or
following a Bollywood film was asking family members or their friends to describe what
was happening on the screen. However, a number of respondents also mentioned that
they were reluctant to ask their companions as it made them feel dependant on the
describer.
“My sister, [who is] younger to me, tells me that the scene is set in a hill-station
and the heroine is dressed in a sari, of course, unless someone in the film mentions
that, I don’t come to know and this is not about one film, it happens in every
second Hindi film, I hate dream sequences, because I never realise when they start
and end. But I don’t want to ask my sister to tell me everything, at all times, I feel
even more dependant, if I don’t understand, then I don’t understand!” Female, 35-
44 years, UK
“What is the point... it spoils the film for them and for me...” Male, 45-54 years, UK
One of the reasons reported for not going to the cinema to watch Bollywood films was
that people found it hard to understand the screenplay without any additional
explanation. People sitting in the immediate vicinity often complained about the
distraction if a companion attempted to assist them with verbal explanations.
Although, they often stopped complaining after realising that the person was blind or
partially sighted. People reported that having to tell people about their sight problem
like this was often embarrassing.
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“See, even if I could see, I will not go and watch every film in the cinema, I will only
go for those films that I want to watch. But yes, very often, I don’t even go the
cinema with my family even for the films I want to watch because many times we
have been asked to keep quiet in the cinema. I feel odd.” Male, 25-34 years, India
It is noteworthy that a few respondents who mentioned during the interview that they
were not keen viewers of television programmes or films were older people with little
or no assistance at home. They reported watching religious and news based
programmes on television but no other specific programmes. This pattern might
potentially be a reflection of their inability to comprehend and enjoy other television
programmes on their own.
The blind and partially sighted people interviewed reported relying heavily on their
companions for a description of important details, thus highlighting the potential
impact of description on the way blind and partially sighted people see their movies
currently.
“I went to see Khamoshi, the one with Manisha Koirala, with my son and daughter-
in-law a long time back. I loved the music but had no clue what was going on. I
could not understand why everyone around was snivelling. My son during the
intermission explained what was going on... though I broadly knew what was
going on, but the sequences of scenes in which a deaf and dumb couple first
realise that their daughter is normal, made a lot of women cry, I just didn’t get it.
Understanding a film is important to feel a part of the crowd.” Female, 45-54
years, India
It is clear that for the majority of respondents, using audio clues while watching films
and depending on companions to tell them what’s happening on the screen, were the
two most popular ways of watching TV, but both the methods were seen as having
serious drawbacks.
“I don’t watch TV/film... I listen to them.” Male, 65-74 years, India
“I don’t know the difference in watching and listening. It has always been the same
for me. So it’s okay... I manage!” Male, 85+ years, UK
Other coping mechanisms

Respondents between the ages of 65-85 years and with a history of health problems
leading to poor vision, were more likely to make adjustments themselves to try and
improve the quality of the picture on the TV/cinema screen. Commonly reported ways
of doing this were by using special stronger glasses, sitting closer to the TV screen, in
some cases using a large screen TV and if nothing else worked, depended heavily on
their residual vision and their imagination.
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“I was sighted earlier so I just sit there... trying to imagine... what happened,
sometimes I am right, sometimes I am wrong!” Male, 55-64 years, UK
5.4.4. Knowledge of AD
When asked, very few people said that they had either heard about AD or used it on a
regular basis either in cinemas or on television. Of the 50 people interviewed, only
eight people, five in the UK and three in India, said that they had heard about AD or
used it on a regular basis. The majority were completely unaware of the concept until
they had heard the film clip with AD during the research study.
5.5. What difference does AD make?

5.5.1. Initial impressions
After watching the short clip with AD during the trial, the majority of the respondents
said that if AD was generally introduced, watching television or films could be more
relaxing and enjoyable.
Respondents reported that the addition of AD would mean feeling more independent
and less isolated as they would be able to watch a film with their friends and family
without having to depend on their help.
“It made me feel like a normal person, equal to anyone else around, I don’t need to
ask!” Female, 25-34 years, India
Participants in the interviews were extremely positive about the prospect of watching
and enjoying a Bollywood film if an AD track was provided with the film. Many felt
that this was the only way for them to have complete access to a film.
“Films for me have always been one dimensional. Suddenly with this, you have
added so many dimensions; I know there are flowers in the boat, there is a lantern;
I know the boy keeps his hand over the girl’s in the song!” Male, 64-75 years, India
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5.5.2. Objective measures of understanding

This study aimed to get an objective measure of the difference that AD made to the
understanding of a film for a blind or partially sighted person.
Interviews revealed that the addition of AD improved the objective understanding of
the film with regards to plot, characters and location.
In order to obtain this measurement, the interviews included a 3-minute clip which
included part of a song from a Bollywood film. The clip was played at three different
stages; the trial started with the blind and partially sighted person watching the clip in
its existing format as it was released in the cinema, without AD. In the following
section, the clip was played with the AD in English or Hindi, depending on the
preference of the participant; the final section consisted of the clip being played with
AD in the alternate language.
Synopsis of the clip from Saawariya
It’s night time and the main lead is beside a canal playing with a football. He
notices a mysterious girl standing alone on a bridge holding an umbrella. As he
tries to strike up a conversation, she shies away. She runs into a dark alley and
disappears.
We see the girl in the alley being followed by a drunken man from whom she is
desperately trying to hide. Finally, the main lead spots her and tries to woo her by
singing to her.
Each clip was followed by the following questions,
What can you tell me about what happened in the clip?
How many people do you think there were in the clip? (Fig. 4, Fig.5)
What can you tell me about the location? (Fig. 6, Fig. 7)
What is Raj carrying? (Fig. 8, Fig. 9)
What is Raj doing? (Fig. 10, Fig. 11)
What is the woman carrying? (Fig. 12, Fig. 13)
How enjoyable did you find it? (Fig. 14, Fig. 15)
Initially, without AD there was poor understanding of the film and many respondents
were confused about the plot, setting and even the type of film.
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“Was the clip from a horror film? I thought so because the background music was
such. Yes, I think, it was a horror film.” Female, 35-44 years, UK
“Somewhere near a cemetery because the clip was eerie but then it all changes in
the end when he starts singing!” Male, 45-55 years, UK
“I got a hazy impression that there was a lady and that she came to somewhere,
either she is searching for somebody or waiting for somebody... there were a lot of
onlookers in another area... she came to a big building and there was a train that
was passing by... could be a steam engine... the onlookers were doing something
else but they were attracted to her by her scream... so something happened to
her... the chap offered her help but she did not want his help. That was it really.”
Male, 35-44 years, UK
Responses indicated that for all respondents, despite variances between their sight
impairments, needed additional help to gain a complete understanding of the clip.
Simple questions like how many people were there in the clip, were incorrectly
answered by 84 per cent of the respondents. The fact that there were only two voices
led most people to believe that there were only two people in the scene and they were
surprised when the clip with AD mentioned the presence of a third character making
the events of the scene more logical. Even though the third character was silent during
the scene, his presence was crucial to the plot and what followed after it.
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How many people do you think there were in the clip? (Fig .4, Fig. 5) (Open
Question)
Three people (2 correct answers without AD; 44 correct answers with AD)
Other answers:
Two people (32 answers without AD; 4 with AD)
Two or three people (8 answers without AD)
Three or four people (4 answers without AD)
Six people (2 answers without AD)
Not sure of the number of people (2 answers without AD)
About four people (2 answers with AD)
Correct answer: Three people
Almost correct answers: Two people, two or three people, three or four people,
about four people
Without AD: Two people (four per cent of the total number of people interviewed)
got the answer right
With AD: 44 people (88 per cent of the total number of people interviewed) got the
answer right
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People were also asked what they know from the clip about the location of the scene.
What do you think the location was? (Fig. 6, Fig. 7) (Open question)
Canal, bridge and alleyway (0 correct answers without AD; 42 correct answers
with AD)
Other answers (50 without AD; 8 with AD):
Tall buildings/street (16 without AD)
River (8 without AD)
Inside a building or a warehouse (2 without AD)
Cemetery (2 without AD)
Railway station/railway line (6 without AD)
Temple/palace (4 without AD)
Around tall buildings (2 with AD)
Somewhere outside (6 with AD)
Not sure (12 without AD)
Correct answer: A bridge, a canal and then an alleyway
Almost correct answers: tall buildings, around tall buildings, river, somewhere
outside)
Without AD: no one got the answer right
With AD: 42 people (84 per cent of the total number of people) got the answer
right.
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What is Raj (male lead) carrying when the clip starts? (Fig. 8, Fig. 9) (Open
question)
A football (10 correct answers without AD; 48 correct answers with AD)
Maybe a camera (2 without AD)
A suitcase (2 without AD)
Nothing (2 without AD)
Not sure (34 without AD; 2 with AD)
Correct answer: A football

Without AD: 10 people (20 per cent of the total number of people) got the answer
right
right.
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What is Raj doing? (Fig. 10, Fig. 11) (Open question)
Playing with the ball (12 correct answers without AD; 36 correct answers with
AD)
Helping or following the girl (10 without AD)
Following the girl (10 without AD)
Not sure (18 without AD; 14 with AD)
Correct answer: Playing/bouncing the ball

right
right.
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What is the woman carrying when the clip starts? (Fig. 12, Fig. 13) (Open
question)
Umbrella (12 correct answers without AD; 38 correct answers with AD)
Bangles (2 without AD)
Shawl (6 with AD)
Don’t remember (6 AD)
Not sure (36 without AD)
Correct answer: An umbrella
right
right.
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Almost a hundred percent of the people were confident answering questions after
having seen the clip with AD and got almost all the answers right. Some of the
participants were also eager to offer details that they had picked up which were not
part of the research questions.
“I know, she is wearing a black skirt, they are in a flower laden gondola.” Female, 13
years, India
“The woman is covering her head with a shawl because she is feeling shy.” Female,
25-34 years, India
5.5.3. Does better understanding also translate into increased

enjoyment?
Interestingly, while most respondents stated they had enjoyed the film “just a little” or
“a fair amount” without AD, almost a hundred per cent of participants rated their
viewing pleasure as “a great deal” when the clip was played with AD. Aside from
benefits such as understanding the film on their own and forming their own opinion,
respondents described emotional benefits such as, “feeling part of a group” and “less
alienated”. They also talked about the joy of watching the film and being completely
aware of what was going on without having to seek assistance.
“I understood everything this time. I did not have to concentrate too much so there
was no strain. For me watching a movie is pretty strenuous because I am partially
sighted, I can see quite a bit but then I can’t see a lot. If I don’t want to miss
anything I have [to] constantly look [peer] at the screen and I don’t enjoy that.
This was easier... I did not feel any strain at all.” Female, 25-34 years, UK
“It made all the difference to me because I got everything wrong in the first go...
but then in the described version, I even found out what the girl is wearing... what
is happening in the song... the choreography was explained to me... I felt like a
regular person.” Female, 45-54 years, UK
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How enjoyable did you find it? (Fig. 14, Fig. 15)
10 4
22
18 46
A great deal (0 without AD; 46 with AD)

Just a little (22 without AD; 0 with AD)
A fair amount (18 without AD; 4 with AD)
Not at all (10 without AD; 0 with AD)
Without AD, majority of the people 22 people (44 per cent of the total number of
people interviewed) said they enjoyed the clip just a little
With AD, 46 people ( 92 per cent of the total number of people) said they enjoyed
the clip a great deal
Some of the respondents enjoyed little details, which had no relevance to the plot as
such but were part of the props that the director had used to set the scene, such as a
wall mural from the Mughal period, the elaborate head dress that the woman wore in
the mural, the woman standing beside a tall glass window in front of the canal. A quick
mention of these details gave an idea of the atmosphere that the director had created
for the film.
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“This is the main bit that people miss... I did not know that there was a bridge...she
was trying to hide when [she] saw another person, a drunken man. These are the
important bits that make everything so interesting. You end up missing out on
everything if you are like me ...I enjoyed it much more this time... “ Female, 55-64,
India
“[The description] makes my life simpler! [ I ] did not understand the story the first
time... why did she scream... did someone attack her... is he hurting her?” Male,
55-64 years, UK
“I did not know what was going on earlier... I thought that there was ghost where
there was no ghost... nothing of the sort!” Female, 35-44 years, UK
“My favourite film, Gandhi, I want to watch that with audio description. After
hearing this, I am thinking about all the things that I must have missed from it!”
Male, 85+ years, UK
5.5.4. Initial indication of the demand for AD

Of the 50 people interviewed, only eight people, five in the UK and three in India said,
that they had heard about AD or use it on a regular basis. The majority were
completely unaware of the concept until they had heard the film clip with AD during
our research study.
The twenty people within the UK sample, who had never experienced or heard about
AD, consequently had no knowledge of the features it had to offer and its availability
on most digital TV channels and in many UK cinemas. One possible reason for this
could be the large percentage of older people in our sample. Many older people
seemed resigned to the current state and said that they were used to coping with their
unmet needs. On further probing, it became quite apparent that the reluctance to try
out a new concept stemmed from their fear of dealing with complicated technology.
They mentioned that if the process to access AD was simple and easy to follow, they
would be more than willing to go the extra mile, as it meant watching TV with no
external assistance. When advised that once the TV set top box at their home had been
set up to deliver AD on every programme that has AD, it was only a matter of
switching the box on and off with no extra buttons to press, respondents were more
than happy to try out the concept. The process of accessing AD on a DVD and in
cinema was also explained to them; most respondents mentioned that they normally
asked someone in the family to help with their DVD player. It was explained that it was
a single step process to access AD in the cinemas, where they would be given a
headset at the box office which would enable them to receive AD and all they would
need to do is switch the headset on.
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However, respondents between the age of 18-44 years, who had never heard of AD
and watched TV/films on a regular basis, did not seem concerned about the possible
complications that the process might entail, and were keen to pick up further
information on how to access AD in the immediate future. This could relate to their
level of comfort with technology.
The situation about awareness of AD was similar in India with twenty-two people being
completely unaware of AD. However, currently there are only a few films available in
India with AD and these are specialist products for blind people, hence availability is
very restricted.
5.5.5. Preferred method for accessing described content

Respondents were asked if they would prefer to watch audio described Bollywood films
on television, on DVD at home or at the cinema. Participant’s first reaction was more
or less unanimous that the medium was not that important and they would watch the
film nevertheless. With further questioning it emerged that there was a split, with the
younger participants opting for the cinema.
“I would like them in the cinemas because that would mean that I can go with my
friends to watch the film and not keep pulling on their sleeve asking them what’s
happening.” Male, 25-34 years, UK
Older respondents, in some cases with additional mobility issues, wished to have it on
television or DVD, which they could watch at home.
“I don’t like going out when it’s cold, and I am always cold, so I would rather watch
it at home with a cup of tea.” Male, 65-74 years, UK
“I am a little scared now that I can’t see very well, that I will trip and fall. And also, I
get tired by the time I come back.” Female, 45-54 years, India
Responses from the sample in the UK and India were very similar in nature; younger
respondents between the age of 18-34 opting to watch audio described content in the
cinemas and the older respondents wishing to have audio described content on
DVD/TV. This was despite the fact that most cinemas in India are not easy to navigate
for blind and partially sighted people.
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5.6. Optimising AD for Bollywood films

Despite low awareness about the concept of AD, a few respondents were forthcoming
with their suggestions on how to improve the current description. Most responses were
similar in nature – description over songs, details about plot, characters, props,
location described in order of their significance to the understanding of the film should
be included in the description.
“Tell me more about what the boy was wearing... settings... ” Male, 18-24 years, UK
“Can you tell me more about their clothes and what the characters look like... how
young or old are they... what are they wearing... what colours?”
Male, 14 years, India
“I think the voice of the film should be lower because at times I could not hear the
lady describing everything.” Male, 35-44 years, UK
5.6.1. Language preferences

Research showed that the majority of participants preferred Hindi description to the
English description. The reason stated most often was that as it is the language of the
film, it made the flow simpler and more enjoyable. It also meant that people would not
need to alternate between English and Hindi and hence would not have to concentrate
that much.
Perhaps surprisingly, choice for the language of AD was not influenced by age and
there was a clear preference for AD in Hindi.
“Hindi, I can understand English but when you have your own language... it is much
easier and better. I prefer Hindi/Urdu.” Male, 55-64 years, UK
“Hindi, it is a better one. It integrated better with the film. I can’t speak Hindi but I
can speak Urdu and Punjabi so I can connect better with that. I prefer the Hindi
one. English version was too intrusive because it was [voicing the] subtitles as well
as [giving audio] description.” Female, 34-44 years, UK
“Hindi – it’s a Hindi film so miss out the real sense of the Hindi film if people speak
over it in English... ” Male, 55-64 years, India
One of the factors for people not opting for the English version was the spoken
subtitles in English. A majority of respondents mentioned that they were straining to
hear the actor’s voices over the spoken subtitles.
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“I don’t think there is any need to have spoke subs[subtitles]... it takes all the
enjoyment out of the film... I don’t speak Hindi at home, English is my first
language but I do watch all my Bollywood films in Hindi.” Female, 35-44 years, UK
“English was not as descriptive. It was wrong in places I thought... Hindi was better
in terms of description. Hindi gave me an idea of the surroundings. The English
one could not get the same essence, the poetry that the Hindi one had.”
Male, 45-55 years, UK
In India, virtually all participants expressed a preference for AD in Hindi. Similarly, in
the UK, only 4 of the 25 people interviewed expressed their preference for the English
version.
5.6.2. Describing over songs

Bollywood movies are generally melodramatic, with lengthy extravaganzas containing a
number of elements, including foot-tapping song and dance numbers, hapless lovers
and infuriated parents, love triangles, corrupt politicians, kidnappers, extended family
and siblings separated by fate, themes of sacrifice, dramatic reversals of fortune and
convenient coincidences.
Songs may be worked into the plot so that a character has a reason to sing. It may be
a manifestation of a character’s thoughts or predicting an event such as falling in love.
Song and dance sequences are often used as a tool for fantasy and often allow
characters to do things and to go to places that would not be realistic in a traditional
plot line.
As mentioned earlier in the report, music in a Bollywood film is considered a huge
selling point for the film. The songs, in most cases, dominate the promotional material.
Film makers spend a significant amount of budget and time on the making of these
songs and they are widely shown on all music channels in India such as MTV India,
B4U and Channel V.
This emphasises the importance of understanding a blind and partially sighted person’s
perspective on the significance of providing description over songs in a Bollywood film.
During interviews, a short audio described clip which included a couple of stanzas from
the song, was included, to explore respondents’ views on AD of songs. To put it mildly,
the reaction from the respondents was one of pure joy.
“Oh, the gondola and the flowers and the lantern, I know they were there in the
song. There was a mural of a queen from the Mughal period.”
Female, 64-74 years, UK
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“You have explained the song... oh my god! Even my family wouldn’t do that for
me!” Female, 25-34 years, UK
The provision of AD over a song was extremely popular and people reported that it
gave them an image of things that they wanted to see, rather than what they needed
to see in a film. When asked if the description disturbed their enjoyment of the music,
it was remarked that music could be enjoyed on the radio and if someone particularly
liked the music then they could buy a music CD, but nothing could replace
experiencing the songs during the film with complete knowledge of the choreography.
5.6.3. What to include in AD

There was a difference of opinion between the two samples.
Participants in India were more critical of the description than those from the UK. They
wanted fewer details to be mentioned in the description and seemed to deduce more
information from the audio clues than their counterparts in the UK.
“I could have done without your telling that the girl is beautiful and she covering
her head with the shawl. I know that from the song, already. But the rest is great.”
Female, 24-35 years, India
A possible reason for this is the greater familiarity with the genre of Bollywood films,
with these films being easily available on television and being an inherent part of their
daily lives in India.
The following chapter discusses and sets standards/guidelines for writing audio
description for Bollywood films.
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6. Proposed AD guidelines for Bollywood
films
This chapter outlines proposed guidelines for the production and presentation of AD
on Bollywood films.
They are based on the standards provided by Ofcom for broadcasters within the UK
who provide description on a percentage of their programming. The standards have
been provided in Ofcom’s Code on Television Access Services. They have been slightly
amended based on the findings from this research study on the preference of language
for audio description and description over musical content.
6.1. What is Audio Description (AD)?

AD is a service primarily aimed at blind or visually-impaired people. It comprises a
commentary woven around the soundtrack, exploiting pauses to explain on-screen
action, describe characters, locations, costumes, body language and facial expressions
to enhance meaning and enjoyment for blind or visually-impaired viewers.
6.2. Users
While people with visual impairments are drawn from all age ranges, a majority will
experience loss of some or all of their vision later in life, for example, as a result of
Macular Degeneration. Accordingly, audio describers should take account of the fact
that most potential users of AD will have some sight, or will have had sight at some
stage.
6.3 Best practice

6.3.1. What to describe
To the extent relevant to the storyline, AD should describe characters, locations, time
and circumstances, any sounds that are not readily identifiable, on-screen action, and
on-screen information.
6.3.2. Characters
Identifying and describing characters is vital to effective AD. Key features (eg “the tall
man”, “district attorney Lopez”) should be identified as soon as practicable, to help
identify the person and avoid the need for long-winded and confusing descriptions.
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6. Proposed AD guidelines for Bollywood films
But do not give the name away if the plot requires the character’s identity to be
revealed at a later date. When describing characters, aspects such as dress, physical
characteristics, facial expression, body language, ethnicity and age may be significant.
Don’t shy away from using colours or describing a character as pretty, or handsome,
where relevant to the story. Generally names (rather than “he” or “she”) are used more
often than in normal speech, so as to avoid confusing the audience, particularly when
there are several people taking part in a dialogue.
6.3.3. On-screen action

Wherever possible try to describe at the same time as the action occurs. This is
particularly important with regard to comic situations, where the audience, sighted and
visually impaired, should be able to laugh at the same time. Wherever relevant, key
back-references can be included. It may be necessary to set up the next scene during
the current description.
6.3.4. Settings
When describing locations, try to cover scene changes where possible; the locations;
the time of day/season/date setting where appropriate; on-screen action; any sounds
that are not readily identifiable; and onscreen information (eg signs, hieroglyphics,
open subtitles for foreign languages, captions, and opening and closing credits).The
description should not censor what is on screen. However, it should not be necessary
to use offensive language, unless (for example) when referring to content that is
integral to understanding the programme, such as graffiti scrawled on a wall.
6.3.5. What not to describe

The description should only provide information about what can be seen on the
screen. Information unavailable to the sighted viewer should not be added though
discretion is always necessary. “A turreted bridge over a city river” would fall short if
the sighted audience sees London’s Tower Bridge, even without an identifying caption.
Generally, ‘filmic’ terms such as camera angles should not be used.
6.3.6. When to describe

AD should not encroach on dialogue, important or complementary sound effects, or
critical sound effects unless really necessary. Even then, AD should only be used to
impart relevant information when the dialogue or other sound is inconsequential or to
read subtitles or on-screen captions. To differentiate between subtitles and description
the describer should do this by either the use of their voice (eg stating the obvious,
“He says in Russian... ” or “A caption reads”’) or a second voice.
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During opening titles and end credits, care should be taken to avoid clumsy overlaps
with song lyrics.
6.3.7. Language
AD provides a real-time commentary, so should generally be in the present tense (he
sits), the continuous present (he is sitting) or the present participle (“Standing at the
window, he lets out a deep sigh”), as appropriate. Variety is important, particularly with
verbs. “She scuttles into the room” rather than the simple fact “She enters the room”
creates a clearer image for the viewer (a thesaurus is always useful).
Adverbs are a useful shorthand to describing emotions and actions, but should not be
subjective. Vocabulary should be matched to the genre of the film/programme. It
should be accurate, easily understood and succinct.
6.3.8. Delivery
Delivery should be steady, unobtrusive and impersonal in style (but not monotonous),
so that the personality and views of the describer do not colour the programme. Avoid
the term “we see”. However, it can be important to add emotion, excitement, lightness
of touch at different points in different films/programmes to suit the mood and the
plot development – the style should be matched to the genre of the film/programme.
Diction should be clear and not hurried – every word should be clear, audible and
timed carefully so that it does not overrun subsequent dialogue. The aim should be to
enhance the enjoyment of the film/programme not to distract from it.
6.3.9. Balance
Judgement is needed in striking an appropriate balance between the amount of detail
that is conveyed, and the risk of overburdening the audience with detail and detracting
from the enjoyment of the film/programme. Too much description, even where there is
a lot of space for description, can make it difficult for viewers to absorb information.
The film/programme should be allowed ‘to breathe’. On the other hand, long gaps in
the dialogue may need to be explained if the viewer is not to be left confused, eg “the
cowboy rides across the prairie into the distance”. If the ‘space’ for AD is short, it is
better to focus on key moments and dynamics rather to rush the description or fill
every available moment. For example, it may be distracting in dance or fight scenes to
describe every piece of action. A consistent approach is important: if a description
starts out as detailed, it should not suddenly become scant.
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6.3.10. Describers
Describers should be chosen to fit the genre, the nature of the film/programme and
the intended audience. Ideally, the same people should be used to describe a series of
films/programmes, both to ensure a consistent style (eg in terms of level of detail) and
because the description forms a part of the film/programme for users.
6.3.11. Children’s programmes/films

Language and pace of delivery for children’s film/ television need particular care. A
more intimate style may be appropriate than would be the case for films/programmes
aimed at adults.
6.3.12. Language and songs in Bollywood Films

The description for a Bollywood film should be in the language of the film, ie Hindi.
The main challenge for the describer working on a Bollywood film is where to place the
description during songs. The describer must judge carefully when to intervene and
when to stay silent during a song. AD should ideally take place where there is a reprise
of the lyrics. When describing a dance sequence, it is important to convey the look and
general movement of the dance rather than a step by step description.
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7. Practical aspects to providing AD on
Bollywood films
In order to gauge the scope for such a project, it is important to gain a clear
understanding of the practical issues involved in making Bollywood films accessible to
blind and partially sighted people using AD. To this end, it becomes crucial to ascertain
what factors, if any, could have severe implications on further development of this
concept. A few of the factors are quite apparent to anyone with a basic understanding
of the Bollywood film industry and its operational structure. These can be broadly
classified in the following categories:
Lack of awareness of AD within the target market in the UK and India
Operational barriers for the industry to provide AD on its films
Commercial considerations.
7.1. Lack of awareness of AD within the target market

in the UK and India
Without a doubt, India continues to be the primary market for Bollywood films,
contributing over 70 per cent of the total revenue generated from a single release. The
audience within India is more likely to influence trends within the industry than the UK
audience, which is much smaller in size. In this context, it becomes significant to realise
that currently there is very little awareness about AD amongst related segments of
society in India. The relevant segments are: the film industry itself, blind or partially
sighted people and organisations working with blind and partially sighted people which
would ideally be driving this need in the public domain.
Essentially the demand that would normally drive an industry to embrace a new
concept is almost non-existent in this case. But this does not mean that demand for
the product cannot be created by generating awareness within the target audience for
audio described Bollywood films.
The solution lies in generating awareness about AD amongst blind and partially sighted
people from the Asian community within the UK and India. This consequently creates a
demand for audio described Bollywood films in both countries, which the industry can
then take steps to meet.
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7. Practical aspects to providing AD on Bollywood films
7.2. Operational barriers to making audio described

films available
7.2.1. Operational barriers to making audio described films
available in India
As a consequence of the above, it is no surprise that India currently has no delivery
systems in place for AD either in cinemas or on television. In such a situation, the only
way to make audio described films available to blind and partially sighted people in
India would be through the DVD industry.
The solution lies in installation of equipment enabling AD in trial cinemas in the four
major cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, and Chennai. These cinemas should be located
strategically within each city, ie, in the vicinity of a major association working for/with
blind and partially sighted people. In addition, a campaign should be launched,
spearheaded by the Government of India, targeting private broadcasters, to consider
ways of introducing AD on a certain percentage of their programming
7.2.2. Operational barriers to making audio described films

available in the UK
It is important to understand that the Bollywood film industry, including all its
production studios, is based in Mumbai. Unlike any other film industry, all its
production work including even minor production processes such as adding of
subtitles, mastering of DVDs etc, are handled within the country.
The absence of an AD industry in India makes it difficult to create AD for Bollywood
films ‘in house’. The option to outsource this provision to describers within the UK
prior to the UK release of a film seems a logical way to get the process of audio
described Bollywood films started. This is also because the AD providers’ industry
within the UK is well established and is aware of the nuances involved in the
procedure. However, the turn-around time for the writing and the recording of AD is
much longer than is currently available, as Bollywood films often arrive in the UK only
around seven days prior to the release date.
Keeping the above in mind, in the longer term, a local Mumbai based set-up for
providing AD to Bollywood films would make the process operationally much simpler.
The film industry will need to carefully consider the issue and make minor changes in
its current operational structure to accommodate the time required to produce AD for a
Bollywood film.
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7.3. Commercial considerations

One of the significant considerations for the Bollywood film industry, aside from
making changes in their current operational set-up to include AD in their films, would
be to ascertain if the costs involved are offset by the expected sales and consumption
of the service. An alternative would be to adopt the UK model where commercial
considerations were not the main driver. Instead, the UK distributors for Hollywood
films took on the task of providing AD on their films as a moral obligation to fulfil the
needs of their blind and partially sighted viewers.
One of the aims of the Bollywood quantitative research study was to give an indication
of the approximate market size for audio described Bollywood films in the UK. The
study was able to establish that blind or partially sighted participants were more likely
to watch a Bollywood film with AD than without it. The next question arises from the
current level of awareness about AD in this target population. It needs to be decided if
further campaigns would bridge this gap in awareness.
A previous research study commissioned by Ofcom in 2008 to measure awareness of
the service both before and after the Ofcom-led Audio Description Awareness
Campaign can be used as an indicative example of the difference that a campaign can
make in creating awareness of AD within the general public.
“Between 1st February and 14th March 2008, a campaign promoting audio
description awareness was conducted by an alliance of broadcasters and the RNIB
and facilitated by Ofcom. Promotional trials were screened across the majority of
television channels over a six-week period.
The results of the study revealed that amongst people with visual impairments,
awareness levels increased from 43 per cent to 72 per cent following the campaign.
Amongst the UK population, awareness increased from 37 per cent to 60 per cent.”
[Access Services Audio Description: Research into awareness levels, Ofcom, 2008,
Page 13]
A campaign to create awareness of AD amongst blind and partially sighted people from
the Asian community in the UK could lead to an increase in awareness levels about AD.
The target audience would then be aware of the feature when a Bollywood film is
released with description.
The quantitative research study was able to establish the preferred methods for
accessing information by blind and partially sighted people from the Asian community.
The research revealed that the top five general sources of information were:
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1. Friends and family

2. Radio
3. Television
4. Local community-based organisations
5. Talking newspapers
Further details on each of those sources can be found in the chapter on quantitative
research study.
7.4. Conclusion
The current RNIB Bollywood Audio Description Project was designed to identify the
potential market for audio described Bollywood films within the blind and partially
sighted Asian community in the UK and India. The results from the quantitative and
qualitative Bollywood research studies clearly state that:
Blind and partially sighted people from the Asian community in the UK and India
who participated in the studies are more likely to watch a Bollywood film with AD
than without it. The qualitative study was able to establish that blind and partially
sighted people enjoyed watching a clip with AD significantly more than they
enjoyed watching the same clip without AD.
There was a clear preference for AD to be in the language of the film, ie Hindi,
amongst the respondents who participated in the qualitative research study.
Respondents asked for description over songs as well as the standard storyline as it
helped them understand what was happening on the screen without any external
assistance.
The qualitative and quantitative research studies were unable to establish preference
for any specific medium, such as television/DVD/cinema, to watch audio described
Bollywood films. The younger respondents tended to prefer cinema viewing while
older respondents clearly showed a preference for television/DVD viewing.
7.5. Recommendations
Based on the conclusion and the barriers outlined above we propose the following
recommendations:
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Recommendation 1: Initiate partnership working with the Indian

film industry
RNIB to work closely with the Indian film industry, sharing the expertise and the
experience, it has built up while working with the UK distributors of the Hollywood
film industry. The aim being, to support the setting up of a system in the UK and India
that can produce AD for Bollywood films.
The uptake of a new concept is bound to be slow in the face of the barriers mentioned
above. But in the past, RNIB has successfully established AD as a norm for all
Hollywood films being released in the UK through vigorous campaigning and
collaborating with the industry at each step. Taking this as a benchmark, the RNIB
Bollywood Project should aim to continue being the contact point for the Bollywood
film industry until all UK based distributors of Bollywood films have embraced the
concept on one hundred per cent of their film releases in the UK and a major part of
the key target audience is familiar with the concept of AD.
The level of input could vary during this period, with RNIB taking a more pro-active
approach for the first two years. This could be until AD is accepted as a norm by at
least one of the key distributors in the UK, with others giving it serious consideration.
It could be another 2-3 years before the entire industry comes on board. By the end of
this five-year period, the target audience for audio described Bollywood films would be
well aware of the concept of AD, not only through RNIB campaigns, but also through
the wide availability of Bollywood titles with AD in UK cinemas and the home
entertainment market.
Recommendation 2: UK pilot of audio described Bollywood films

Keeping in mind that all systems and infrastructures enabling the provision and
delivery of AD in films are in place within the UK, it would be operationally simpler to
pilot the product in the UK first, and then share the experience and expertise with the
industry in India. If the AD track was available for UK cinema release, the track could
then be utilised on the DVD and tested in the Indian DVD market.
Recommendation 3: AD for all mediums

The research study was unable to bring out a clear preference for any particular
medium for accessing Bollywood films in the UK or India. A split between preferences
was evident amongst younger cinema goers (18-44 years) and older home
entertainment enthusiasts. This could potentially reflect possible mobility issues faced
by older people in addition to sight problems. Therefore, the Bollywood film industry
99
should be encouraged to make AD tracks available across diverse film viewing

platforms – cinema, DVD and eventually television.
Making a specialist product available targeted solely at the blind and partially sighted
community, would impede the progress of making AD widely available. As always, there
will be operational barriers for specialist products such as gathering funds for
production and distribution and poor acceptance in a wider market because of the
stigma attached to disability. We therefore recommend that AD be made available on
the mainstream DVD release of a film.
If AD was to be made available as an optional audio track on the regular DVD release,
it would not only increase the availability of accessible Bollywood films but also lead to
a greater acceptance of AD amongst the general population in both India and the UK.

in the UK
4(a) RNIB to plan awareness campaigns with the aim of familiarising the UK Asian
blind community with concept of AD. These promotional activities should be planned
bearing in mind the specific characteristics of the Asian community such as language
preference of the target audience and their knowledge of Hindi.
4(b) RNIB to share findings of this research with the UK distributors of Hollywood
films who are forming alliances with the Indian film industry and distributing Bollywood
films in the UK, including Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures.
4(c) RNIB to create awareness within the UK cinema exhibitors about the possible
arrival of audio described Bollywood films. This would enable cinemas to appropriately
assign films to the specific screens that are equipped to handle AD.
4 (d) RNIB should work in partnership with organisations providing services to the
different Asian communities in the UK to raise the level of awareness about AD for
blind and partially sighted people. The evidence from the research indicates that there
is a high demand for uptake of other specialist services like ‘talking newspapers’ for
blind and partially sighted people within the different South Asian communities which
provides a favourable context for the introduction of AD aimed at Asian communities
via Bollywood films.
These activities and campaigns would need to be planned and organised in conjunction
with the relevant industries.
100

in India
5 (a) RNIB and associations working for/with blind and partially sighted people in
India to work collaboratively with the specific sectors within the Government of India,
with the Indian counterparts taking a lead role in creating awareness about AD and its
eventual availability on Bollywood films in India. As AD is a medium for moving images,
cinemas and television could play an instrumental role in creating this awareness. A
specific media plan would be needed after a thorough analysis of various factors such
as television ratings; suitable time slots for the target group and focus geographical
regions in terms of demographics enabling efficient and effective communication with
the potential users.
Recommendation 6: Engage with the Bollywood film industry

6 (a) RNIB could participate in conferences and discussions relevant to the Indian film
industry, non-profit organisations working in the field of visual impairment and access
technologies in India. This would enable wider awareness and discussion on the subject
with a larger audience. Once the discussion gathers momentum, it should be steered
towards practical solutions to making the AD technology widely available.
6 (b) RNIB may wish to think about working in partnership with selected Bollywood
film producers to set up a pilot project using AD in Bollywood films. Such a
development would not only benefit blind and partially sighted people in the UK and
India but others living across the globe. This could be done by organising workshops
for selected Bollywood film producers to provide them with practical advice and
support for implementing the ‘Bollywood Audio Description Initiative’.
Recommendation 7: Possible introduction of a legislation in the UK

RNIB may wish to explore with Ofcom the possibility of achieving a quota for AD on
Bollywood channels broadcast in the UK.
Recommendation 8: Accessible technology in the UK

The evidence from the survey suggests that many blind and partially sighted people
have difficulty operating current electronic devices providing access to AD. It is
recommended that RNIB continues to work with electronics manufacturers and TV
platform operators to ensure that they implement a ‘shortcut’ button on the remote
control so people can more easily access AD.
101
References
Bose, M. (2007). Bollywood a History. Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing Ltd.
Communications Act (2003) (c. 21) Part 3 – Television and Radio Services, Chapter 4 –
Regulatory provisions. Available online:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/pdf/ukpga_20030021_en.pdf
[Accessed: 13 May 2009]
FICCI – Pricewaterhouse Coopers (2007) – Indian entertainment and Media Industry.
Available online: http://www.pwc.com/en_IN/in/assets/pdfs/indian-entertainment-
media-industry-growth-story-unfolds.pdf [Accessed date 14 August 2009]
FICCI and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (2008) Indian entertainment and Media Industry:
Sustaining growth report 2008. Available online:
http://www.pwc.com/en_IN/in/assets/pdfs/indian-entertainment-media-industry-
sustaining-growth.pdf [accessed 14 August 2009]
International Indian Film Academy (2007) The Indian Film Industry [online]. Available
online: http://www.iifa.com/web07/cntnt/theindianfilmindustry.htm
[Accessed 13 May 2009]
Information Centre, The (2006). Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People Year
ending 31 March 2006. Available online:
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/blindeng06
/RegisteredBlindPartiallySighted311006_PDF.pdf [Accessed: 13 May 2009]
ITC Guidance on Standards for Audio Description (May 2000)
Available online: ITC Guidance on Standards for Audio Description (May 2000)
htttp://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/itc/uploads/ITC_Guidance_On_Standards_
for_Audio_Description.doc [accessed 14 August 2009]
Leicester City Council (2009) Area Profile for the City of Leicester: Demographic and
Cultural. Available online: http://www.leicester.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=1009#Eth
[Accessed 13 May 2009]
Ofcom, Code on Television Access Services (2006)
Guidelines on the Provision of Television Access Services. available online:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/guidance/tv_access_serv/guidelines/.
[Accessed 14 August 2009]
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/itc/uploads/ITC_Guidance_On_Standards_
for_Audio_Description.doc [accessed 14 August 2009]
Ofcom (2008) – Access Services Audio Description: Research into awareness levels
[Accessed 14 August 2009]
102
References
Office for National Statistics (2004) Ethnic group KS06. Available online:
http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=2767
72&c=tower+hamlets&d=13&e=13&g=346968&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1243
701148545&enc=1&dsFamilyId=47 [Accessed: 13 May 2009]
Pokharel, G.P and Marriotti, S.P (2004). Global data on visual impairment in the year
2002, Bulletin of the World Health Organization: 82 (11), 844 - 851.
Sefton, T., Baker, M. and Praat, A. (2005). Ethnic minorities, disability and the labour
market: A review of the data. Available online:
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_data
review1.doc [Accessed: 13 May 2009]
Tate, R., Smeeth, L., Evans, J., Fletcher, A., Owen, C., and Rudnicka, A. (2005), The
prevalence of visual impairment in the UK: A review of the literature. London: RNIB
UK Film Council (2007), Statistical Year Book. London, UK: UK FC
103
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for qualitative
study
Instructions
RNIB through this study seeks to establish whether there is a potential market for
audio described Bollywood films in the UK. It also aims to establish preferences in
relation to AD guidelines for Bollywood films, in order to increase viewing and
viewing pleasure.
It is a detailed interview on one to one basis.
I will be completing the questionnaire based on your responses to the questions.
I will be recording this interview solely for the purpose of transcribing the interview
at a later date.
The information I gather through this study will be treated as confidential and
anonymous. It will be used solely for RNIB’s Bollywood Audio Description Project.
If we use your quotes, they will not be attributed to your name.
The interview will not take more than 35 mins to finish.
If you would like to get in touch with me with regards to the Bollywood Project
research study, I can provide you with my contact mail ID and my direct telephone
number at RNIB:
Sonali Rai
Bollywood Project Officer
Media and Culture Department
RNIB
Email: sonali.rai@rnib.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7391 3270
104
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for qualitative study
Bollywood Audio Description Project: Qualitative

one-to-one interviews
1. Which of the following age bands are you in:

A. 18 - 24
B. 25 - 34
C. 35 - 44
D. 45 - 54
E. 55 - 64
F. 65-74
G. 75-84
H. 85+
2. Which of the following describe what you are able to see? (Choose all
the options that apply to you)
A. I can see well enough to recognise a friend across the road.
B. I can see well enough to recognise a friend across a room
C. I can see well enough to recognise a friend who is at arms length away
D. I can see well enough to recognise a friend if you get close to his or her
face.
E. I can see the shapes of the furniture in a room
F. In a room during daytime, I can tell by the light where the windows are
G. I cannot see anything at all.
H. Prefer not to say
Notes:
105
3. Are you a registered blind or registered partially sighted? (Choose one

option)
A. Severely sight impaired (Blind)
B. Sight impaired (Partially sighted)
C. Neither
D. Don’t know
Notes:
4. When watching TV: (Choose all the options that apply to you)
A. I have difficulty seeing the buttons on the remote control
B. I have difficulty seeing the picture on the TV screen
C. I have difficulty seeing the fine detail on the TV screen
D. I have difficulty seeing text on the TV screen
E. I am able to see the light of the TV screen
F. I cannot see anything on the TV screen
G. I do not find that I have any difficulty following what is going on the screen
H. Other...
5. When you currently watch or follow a programme or film on DVD or on

television (Choose all the options that apply to you)
A. I use my residual sight to watch

B. I wear special stronger glasses
C. I get closer to the TV screen
D. I use a magnifier
E. I adjust the screen settings
F. I adjust the lighting in the room
G. I use a large screen TV
H. I ask my friends or family members to assist me by explaining what hap-
pens on the screen
I. I just try to pick up as much as I can from the sound of the film or pro-
gramme
J. I use audio description to explain to me what happens on the screen
K. I make none of these adjustments
L. I never watch TV/ DVD(s)
M. Other
106
View 1st user material

3 minute clip without AD
6. What can you tell me about what happened in that clip?

1. How many people do you think there were in the clip?
2. What can you tell me about the location?
3. What is Raj carrying?
4. What is Raj doing?
5. What is the woman carrying?
6. What is the woman doing?
7. How enjoyable did you find it?

- just a little
- a fair amount
- a great deal
- not at all
- don’t know
Why?
8. Any other comments
View 2nd user material

3 minute clip with English AD
107


- just a little
- a fair amount
- a great deal
- not at all
- don’t know
Why?
11 How did the addition of audio description affect your experience of the
film clip?
View 3rd user material

3 minute clip with Hindi AD
108

- just a little
- a fair amount
- a great deal
- not at all
- don’t know
Why?
15. How did the addition of audio description affect your experience of the
film clip?
- Was there too much talking and information/ verbose
- Was it more relaxing?
16. What additional items did you understand with the second audio
described clip?
- Location
- Detailed information
- Characters
- Story/ Plot
109
17. How did the addition of audio description affect your experience of the
song in the film clip?
Did you feel the description interfered with your enjoyment of the music?
Did you feel enjoy the song more because you were aware of what happened
on the screen?
18. Which of the audio described clips did you prefer:

- Hindi
- English
- no preference
- did not prefer either of the audio clips
Why?
General questions
19. Are there any ways the audio description could be improved to make
your experience of the film better?
20. If a Bollywood film was shown with AD on TV, do you think you would
watch it?
What factors would influence your decision to watch it? ie:
A. Language of the AD - Hindi / English
B. Level of description (too wordy, not descriptive enough)
C. Accessibility to AD(ed) Bollywood films
A. Yes
B. No
Notes:
110
21. If a Bollywood film was available with AD on DVDs would you watch it?
What factors would influence your decision to watch it? ie:
A. Language of the AD - Hindi / English
B. Level of description (too wordy, not descriptive enough)
C. Accessibility to AD(ed) Bollywood films
A. Yes
B. No
Notes:
22. What is your source of information for products specially designed for
Blind and partially sighted people?
A. Newspapers & Magazines
B. Internet
C. Radio
D. Television
E. From friends or family
F. RNIB
G. From my local organisation working for Blind and partially sighted people
H. Local authority / social service organisations
I. Other local organisations
J. Specialist magazines i.e. RNIB magazines
K. Talking Newspapers
L. Other
Please ask for details of each of the option that the respondent selects,ie
Respondent selects talking newspaper; please ask which talking newspaper
specifically.
111
Appendix 2: Questionnaire for quantitative
study
RNIB Bollywood Audio Description Project

Quantitative survey – January 2009
Questionnaire Number:
Interview Date: (dd) ____: (mm) ____: (yy) ____
Start time: (hh) ____: (mm) ____
End time: (hh) ____: (mm) ____
Interviewer:
City:
Location of interview:
Home (Code 1)
Community centre (Code 2 )
Other (Code X)
Specify:
Type of interview:
Face-to-face (Code1)
Telephone (Code 2)
Introduction
Hello my name is ___________________I am from Agroni, an independent research
organisation. We are working in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind
people to explore the Bollywood film viewing/watching habits of blind and partially
sighted people within the Asian communities in the UK. The main aim of the research
112
Appendix 2: Questionnaire for quantitative study
is to talk to people like your selves to find your specific needs and preferences in
relation to audio description of Bollywood films. I will appreciate if you could spare
approximately 10 minutes of your time to give us your invaluable opinion.
Everything you say will remain strictly confidential and you will not be identified in any
way in our reports. Furthermore I can assure you that your participation in this
research is completely voluntary and you have rights to not answer any questions that
you feel uncomfortable with and you may ask for termination of interview at any point.
Are you happy to proceed with this interview?

Yes (Code 1) Continue
No (Code 2) Thank and close
Screening questions
S1: Before starting the interviews, I would like to find out your preferred
language for the interview. Would you like this interview to be conducted in?
English (Code 1) Continue
Bengali (Code 2) Continue
Hindi (Code 3) Continue
Urdu (Code 4) Continue
S2: Please tell me how would you describe the present conditions of your sight?
Blind (Code 2) Recruit to quota
Partially blind (Code 2) Recruit to quota
Neither (Code 3) Close
S3: How would you describe your ethnicity?

Bangladeshi (Code 1) Continue
British Bangladeshi (Code 2) Continue
Indian (Code3) Continue
British Indian (Code 4) Continue
Pakistani (Code 5) Continue
British Pakistani (Code 6) Continue
S4: Did you take part in any RNIB research in last 6 months?
Yes (Code 1) Thank and close
No (Code 2) Continue
S5: Gender (Please note and circle)

Male (Code 1)
Female (Code 2)
113
About respondents
Q1: Which of the following age bands are you in: (Single code)
18-24 (Code 1) Continue
85+ (Code 8) Continue
Q2: Which of the following describe what you are able to see? (multi code)
Options Code
I can see well enough to recognise a friend across the road 1
I can see well enough to recognise a friend across a room 2
I can see well enough to recognise a friend who is at arms length away 3
I can see well enough to recognise a friend if I get close to his or her face. 4
I can see the shapes of the furniture in a room 5
In a room during daytime, I can tell by the light where the windows are 6
I cannot see anything at all. 7
Prefer not to say 8

Notes/comments if any:
Q3: Are you a registered blind or registered partially sighted?(Single code)

Severely sight impaired or blind (Code 2) Continue
Sight impaired or partially sighted (Code 2) Continue
Neither (Code 3) Continue
Don’t know (Code 4) Continue
Notes/comments if any:
114
About TV/ DVD viewing habits

Q4. When watching TV you have any of the following: (Multi code)
Options Code
Difficulty seeing the buttons on the remote control 1
Difficulty seeing the picture on the TV screen 2
Difficulty seeing the fine detail on the TV screen 3
Difficulty seeing text on the TV screen 4
Able to see the light of the TV screen 5
Cannot see anything on the TV screen 6
Do not find any difficulty following what is going on the screen 7
Other X
Specify X
115
Q5. When you currently watch or follow a programme or film on DVD or on

television do you use any of the following: (Multi code)
Options Code
Use your residual sight to watch 1
Wear special stronger glasses 2
Get closer to the TV screen 3
Use a magnifier 4
Adjust the screen settings 5
Adjust the lighting in the room 6
Use a large screen TV 7
Ask my friends or family members to assist me by explaining what happens 8

on the screen
Just try to pick up as much as I can from the sound of the film or 9
programme
Use audio description to explain to me what happens on the screen 10
Make none of these adjustments 11
Never watch TV or DVD(s) 12
Others X
Specify X
116
Skip to Question number 8, if the respondent chooses option 12 – I never

watch TV or DVD(s)
Q6. How often do you currently watch Bollywood films on TV? (Single code)
About once a day (Code 1)
About a couple of times a week (Code 2)
About once a week (Code 3)
About once a fortnight (Code 4)
About once a month (Code 5)
About once every 3 months (Code 6)
About once a year (Code 7)
Never (Code 8)
Q7. How often do you currently watch Bollywood films on DVD? (Single code)
About once a fortnight (Code 4)
Never (Code 8)
117
Q8. What, if any, factors stop you from watching Bollywood films on TV or DVD?
(Multi code)
Options Code
I am not interested in watching Bollywood films 1
I am not interested in watching TV or DVDs 2
I do not own a TV 3
I find it too difficult to use a TV 4
I do not own a DVD player 5
I find it too difficult to use a DVD player 6
I have no access to a television 7
I have no access to a DVD player 8
I do not have time to watch TV or DVDs 9
I find it difficult to follow Bollywood films because of my sight problem 10
Nothing stops me from watching Bollywood Films on TV or DVD 11
Other X
118
About cinema viewing habits

Q9. How do you currently watch or follow a film in the cinema? (Multi code)
Options Code
I use my residual sight to watch 1
I wear special stronger glasses 2
I get closer to the TV screen 3
I use a magnifier 4
I adjust the screen settings 5
I adjust the lighting in the room 6
I use a large screen TV 7
I ask my friends or family members to assist me by explaining what happens 8

on the screen
I just try to pick up as much as I can from the sound of the film or 9
programme
I use audio description to explain to me what happens on the TV screen 10
I make none of these adjustments 11
I never go to the cinema 12
Other X
119
Q10. How often do you currently watch Bollywood films on the cinema? (Single
code)
About once every two weeks (Code 4)
About twice a year (Code 7)
Never (Code 9)
Q11. What, if any, factors stop you from watching Bollywood films on TV in the
cinema? (Multi code)
Options Code
I am not interested in watching Bollywood films 1
There is no local cinema that plays Bollywood films near where I live 2
I find it difficult to travel to the cinema 3
I have no time to go to the cinema 4
I find it difficult to follow Bollywood films because of my sight problem 5
Nothing stops me from watching Bollywood Films in the cinema 6
Other X
120
Interviewer gives a short introduction to AD:

Audio Description is like a narrator telling a story. It is an additional commentary that
describes body language, expressions and movements between programme dialogues –
giving people sight through sound. It ensures that people with a sight problem can
follow the action on screen more easily.
The interviewer then plays an example of an audio described clip
Q12: Had you ever heard of audio description before today? (Single code)
Yes, I have heard of it but I don’t know what it is (Code 1)
Yes, I have heard of it and I know what it is (Code 2)
Yes, I have heard of it and I use it (Code 3)
No, I had never heard of it (Code 4)
Not sure (Code 5)
Q13: What is the likelihood of your watching an audio described Bollywood

movie in comparison to watching a non-audio described Bollywood movie?
(Single code)
More Likely (Code 1)
Not sure (Code 2)
121
Q14: What are your sources of information for products specially designed for
Blind and partially sighted people? (Multi code)
Options Code
Newspapers & Magazines 1
Internet 2
Radio 3
Television 4
From friends or family 5
RNIB 6
From my local organisation working for Blind and partially sighted people 7
Local authority / social service organisations 8
Other local organisations 9
Specialist magazines i.e. RNIB magazines 10
Talking Newspapers 11
Other X
Please probe for details of each of the option selected by the respondent. For
example if the respondent selects talking newspaper; please ask which talking
newspaper specifically.
Any other comments
Respondents’ details
For quality control purposes our office randomly contacts some respondents to ensure
that the interview was conducted accurately and ethically (show thank you leaflets).
There is no guarantee that you will be selected for the random checking. However, I
will appreciate if you could give the following information in case my office would like
to talk to you about my conduct as part of Agroni’s standard “Quality
Control/Respondents’ Care” procedures.
122
Full name: ________________________________________

Address: _______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Telephone: ____________(Home)______________(Mobile)
Thank you
Further RNIB research

RNIB is occasionally looking for people to participate in future projects. Would you be
happy for us to pass your details to RNIB for any future research projects?
Yes (Code 1)
No (Code 2)
Declaration by the interviewer

I certify that this face-to-face/telephone* interview has been personally carried out by
me with the respondent above. I further declare that all information is truthful and
correct as told by the respondent. I understand that any discrepancies discovered
during the back-checking/quality control of this questionnaire will result in the
cancellation of this interview.
Signature of the interviewer
Date
*Delete as appropriate
123
Registered Charity Number 226227
ISBN 978 1 4445 0038 7
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Bollywood for all

the demand for audio described Bollywood films

Project Steering Group

For further information about this research, contact:

Royal National Institute of Blind People

All India Confederation of the Blind

2. What was done during the course of the project?

2.3. Qualitative research study

3. Key findings and conclusions

If AD were to be made available as an optional audio track on the regular DVD

Recommendation 4: Raising awareness amongst the target population

4 (d) RNIB should work in partnership with organisations providing services to

These activities and campaigns would need to be planned and organised in

Recommendation 6: Engage with the Bollywood film industry

2. Audio Description (AD)____________________________________________20

4. Quantitative research study ________________________________________27

4.4.3. Factors that affect the viewing of Bollywood films______________42

5. Qualitative research study ________________________________________61

5.5. What difference does AD make?__________________________________76

6. Proposed AD guidelines for Bollywood films __________________________91

7. Practical aspects to providing AD on Bollywood films __________________95

Appendix 1: Questionnaire for qualitative study ________________________104

Appendix 2: Questionnaire for quantitative study________________________112

Gauging the popularity of Bollywood films in the UK

1.2. Quantitative research study

1.3. Qualitative research study

1.4. Structure of the report

2.2. Development of AD in the UK

2.3. Enabling AD for 35mm film prints

In both systems, AD is transmitted to blind and partially sighted people in the

2.4. Enabling AD for digital cinema

Persona 1: Asha, age 32, unemployed

Persona 2: Rajesh, age 87, a retired musician

Persona 3: Tarun, age 46, works for a private company

Persona 4: Aarti, age 58, housewife

Persona 5: Puja, age 13, school student

Persona 6: Mukesh, age 76, retired

4.2.1. Approach: Sample and methodology

4.2.2. Sample size and the locations of interviews

number along with percentages either in a tabular format or in a graphical

4.3. Key finding 1: About the respondents

4.3.2. Ethnicity and gender

Ethnicity of respondents Number of respondents Per cent

Indian 157 60.3%

Gender of respondents Number of respondents Per cent

Male 148 57%

4.3.3. Place of interviews and gender of respondents

Male respondents Female respondents

4.3.4. Age of respondents

Table 4. Age of respondents (N=260)

Age of respondents Number of respondents Per cent

18-24 years 8 3.1%

4.3.5. Types of interviews and the language used for interviews

Respondents were offered a choice of languages in which the interviews could be

Language Number of respondents Per cent

4.3.6. About respondents’ eye sight

Frequency Per cent Cumulative

Frequency Per cent

4.4. Key finding 2: About television and DVD

Multiple responses Frequency Per cent

Difficulty seeing the buttons on the remote control 134 51.5%

Table 9 (overleaf) provides further details of strategies employed by respondents to

Multiple responses Frequency Per cent