Lifting the curtains on disability

Jane Elliott
BBC News Health Staff

Elspeth and Lovely the star of 'Bihongo'

Imagine the scene - the hero returns to his native village, tackles a series of obstacles and wins the respect of his local community and the hand in marriage of the girl he loves.

Throw in a bad man, plenty of romance and a murder and you have the typical ingredients of a Bollywood blockbuster.

But where this new movie, being filmed in Bangladesh, breaks the mould is that the hero, like 10% of the population, is disabled.

Rural

And like many of his countrymen the new hero has to cope not only with his disability - he is paralysed from the waist down - but he also has to run the gauntlet of fear and superstition from the people he lives with.

In Bangladesh the problem of prejudice against the disabled is particularly acute in the rural areas.

Someone in a wheelchair can be a hero Elspeth Waldie

Through the film called 'Radiobhai (Radio Brother), script writer Elspeth Waldie hopes to portray the message that far from being useless people with disabilities can, if given the chance, make a real contribution to society.

For the last 25 years the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) Bangladesh has been working with the disabled and preparing them for rehabilitation into the community.

The film hopes to reduce prejudice

But they say their work is severely limited by the high levels of superstition and prejudice faced by the disabled.

Ms Waldie, of Purple Field Productions, was so moved by her experiences in Bangladesh and with the CRP that she produced a full-length feature film, about the disabled, in 2001 called 'Bihongo' in a bid to try and re-educate the local population.

This film appeared in cinema halls throughout the country and was transmitted to about 10 million people by TV.

"We got one of the top two directors in the country, Abdullah Al-Mamun, and he was able to get the other stars onboard.

"People came from all over the country to watch it. In one area there were 3,000 people watching the film in one paddy field. People really did enjoy it and they were prepared to travel some distance to see it."

New film

And CRP said Bihongo had a tremendous impact on the local community.

"The film was shown 123 times to a total of nearly 150,000 people.

"These showings were staged at small town and village level to those who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to see the film and learn its message on disability.

"It has proven to be very successful in terms of reaching large numbers. It is admittedly too early to tell how effective this particular message is in terms of raising awareness and ultimately reducing the numbers suffering from disabilities."

Now Elspeth hopes her new film, will build on these successes, particularly in the rural areas.

"There is a big problem in Bangladesh, particularly in the rural areas.

"People will hide a disabled child and a husband will divorce his wife if she becomes disabled, leaving them without their homes, their families or any financial support.

"It really is a problem.

"I want them to see that people in wheelchairs can have a contribution to make to society.

Message

"We are very keen to enable people with disabilities to get involved in the filming and would like the main character to be someone who is disabled rather than someone who is acting the part.

"Our main message is going to be that someone in a wheelchair can be a hero, they can be good-looking and they can be handsome. They can be everything anyone else can."

Elspeth explained that even after rehabilitation the future is bleak for the disabled, because there are no provisions for them.

"It really is difficult for people to get an interview for a job and even if they do they can't get to the jobs because there is no access to buildings and no access to buses."

CRP Bangladesh said the film was encouraging the disabled to take part in the film industry.

"One of the most exciting components of Radiobhai is that it is being filmed using digital equipment.

"This is much lighter and easier to handle than conventional film making equipment. It is hoped that this will encourage people with disabilities to participate more in film making which will not only provide vocational opportunities but the creativity of the work could also prove to be very fulfilling for disabled participants. "