Teen Dost, a film that brings a rare perspective to disability

Three friends on the threshold of their lives who stick together through the good times and bad forms the central theme of Teen Dost, a film scripted by Simran Chawla, which released worldwide on TVNFINDIA YouTube this week.

This is the first film that Chawla, a visually impaired and radio jockey with Radio Udaan has scripted.

Chawla says she was always drawn to the idea of working on a film that emphasized how disability can never be a roadblock if one has the right company.

I am strongly attracted to the field of media and I was always thinking about ways to use the medium to increase inclusion in society. I decided to start working on this seriously to make the world aware that people with disabilities can do anything. – Simran Chawla, Aspiring filmmaker

Chawla, who started working on the script soon after graduation, approached well-known filmmaker, Satya Prakash Sabherwal to direct Teen Dost. With over 100 films on disability to his credit, Satya Prakash brought a wealth of experience to the project.

“I had met Simran at a college festival in Hans Raj College where she was studying, and I was very impressed with her confidence”, says Satya Prakash. “I told her that we must make a film that is realistic”.

Teen Dost is about three friends, two of whom are visually impaired, and one, sighted. How they support each other in their personal and professional lives forms the theme.

The characters are drawn from Simran and Satya Prakash’s imagination. Simran says while some her character is close to reality, a large part of it is fictional.

“There is some fiction in the film. Like I have never lived in Mumbai as my character is shown. The other two actors are also a work of the imagination, except for Ritesh who is a good singer in real life too”.

Going by the responses, the film seems to have struck a chord. Hema Chandel describes it as an “inspiring and eye opening story that helps in building a connection between differently-abled and abled”.

Another viewer Naveen Naik, commented “it motivates the visually impaired person like me and boosts our confidence towards life”.

Mainstream films casting disabled people with stories written and portrayed from their point of view is virtually unheard of in India. Films like Teen Dost must be encouraged and promoted to bring in this much needed perspective in our cinema. You can watch Teen Dost by clicking here: https://youtu.be/DP0a-p2_If4

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