Bollywood first for blind actor

A blind Indian is preparing for what is believed to be the first time a person with such a disability will perform a starring role in a Bollywood film.

Naseer Khan, 36, is all set to make his debut in a film called Shadow.

It features him as a gunman with normal vision who performs various death-defying stunts.

His appearance marks a radical change for an industry renowned for its glamorous women and muscle-flexing men who are free of disability or blemish.

'Normal life'

Mr Khan, from Kanpur in north India, completely lost his vision when he was a teenager. He had struggled with partial blindness since birth.

Bollywood stars such as Akshay Kumar tend to be all conquering heroes

But in the film, he plays a swashbuckling character without any obvious impairment.

"I want to prove to the world that having a disability doesn't change anything, one can still continue leading a normal life," he said.

Naseer Khan's action scenes in the film include racing a jet ski, diving, rotating a motorbike, performing stunts on a burning car and jumping off the 38th floor of a building.

Mr Khan, who co-produced the film, stars alongside actors Milind Soman and Hrishita Bhatt.

He decided to take the plunge into the world of acting a few years ago when he happened to be on the sets of a film directed by his friend.

"I thought that acting wasn't a difficult job at all, all you need is time and money," he said. "Of course I have changed my opinion now!"

Naseer Khan belongs to a family of leather industrialists and real estate agents. His passion for Bollywood films brought him to Mumbai and his new career of film production.

"I have always tried to do everything that a person with normal eyesight can do. For example I have received training in leather tanning and also done a course in repairing electronic goods. I can fix video cassette recorders and dish antennas with ease.

"I do take the help of a normal-sighted person while fixing electronic goods. I instruct them on how to repair the product after detecting what the problem is," he says.

And it's not just action scenes - Naseer also dances in the film, an essential requirement for any Bollywood blockbuster.

This, he says, was one of his most difficult challenges since he could not see what the choreographer wanted him to do.

He therefore learnt his dance moves by touching and feeling the choreographer's movements.

"There were times when I felt scared doing dangerous stunts but I was determined to complete them. I thought if a certain scene was integral to the film then it had to be shot despite the difficulties.

"The primary objective of making this film is not commercial success. I just want to inspire people to follow their dreams and aspirations.

"Impossible is not a word in my dictionary."

The film is set to be released later this month.

India: Nominations Invited For Helen Keller Awards 2009

The National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and Shell India Pvt. Ltd. are pleased to invite nominations for the 11th edition of the NCPEDP–Shell Helen Keller Awards that honour individuals and companies who are working towards ensuring equal opportunities for people with disabilities in their work place. The awards also acknowledge disabled people who have become role models for the community by not allowing their disabilities to become a handicap.

Every year, NCPEDP gives ten awards under the following 3 categories:

Category A:Disabled persons from within and outside the disability sector who have been active as ambassadors of the cause of employment for disabled people and are a positive role model for others (3 Awards).

Category B:Role Model Supporter of Increased Employment Opportunities for Disabled People. Individuals from within and outside the disability sector who have contributed substantially to the cause of promoting employment opportunities for disabled people over an extended period of time (3 Awards).

Category C:Companies / organizations / institutions who share our vision and through their policies and practices demonstrate their belief in equal rights and gainful employment for persons with disabilities (4 Awards).

A total ofsixindividuals andfourorganizations for these awards will be selected.The NCPEDP-SHELL HELEN KELLER AWARDS 2009will be presented at a function on 2ndDecember 2009, the eve of the World Disability Day, at New Delhi. A Sub-Committee will scrutinize the forms, and those selected will be informed directly by NCPEDP.Shri Subodh Bhargava chaired the Sub-Committee from 1999-2005. For the last three years, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy has been chairing the Sub – Committee.Eminent persons from the corporate sector, media as well as the disability sector have also served on the Sub-Committee in the previous years.

The Nomination Forms could be obtained by emailing at: secretariat@ncpedp.org. Complete Nomination Forms should reach NCPEDP latest by Tuesday, 15thSeptember 2009.

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About Helen Keller Awards:

NCPEDP conducted a survey of Indian private and public corporations, included in Business India’s Super 100 list of 1998. Needless to say, the findings of the survey were extremely disappointing. This survey undertaken in 1999, revealed that the private sector employed a mere 0.28 percent people with disabilities, while the public sector employed 0.54 percent. Multinational corporations had hired only 0.05 percent disabled people in India. This led to the institution of the NCPEDP – Shell Helen Keller Awards in 1999. Over a period of time these awards have received incredible support and recognition from the concerned sectors.

About National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP):

National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) was registered as a Trust in 1996, with a Board of Management which has representation from industry, N.G.O.s, disabled people and international agencies. N.C.P.E.D.P. stresses the need to move away from traditionally held views of charity and welfare to those of productivity and empowerment of disabled people.

Treaty fostered by HLS Project on Disability to be signed by the U.S.

HPOD Executive Director Michael Stein ’88

On Friday July 24, President Barack Obama ’91 announced that the United States will sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, joining more than 100 other nations. The Harvard Law School Project on Disability played a prominentrole in the negotiations leading up to the convention, which is the first global human rights treaty of the 21st century.

HPOD was represented at the White House ceremony on Friday afternoon by the project’s Executive Director Michael Stein ’88, Cabell Professor at William & Mary Law School and frequent visiting professor at HLS. An expert in disability law, Stein played an important role in the convention’s drafting and its adoption by the U.N. in 2006. The convention has since been signed by 139 nations and ratified by 59.

“The United States signing of the CRPD and submitting it to the Senate for ratification reaffirms American commitment to rejoining the global community generally, and to continuing leadership in the area of disability law and policy,” said Stein, who will attend the signing at the U.N. on July 31.

The convention took legal effect one month following the 20th national ratification, on May 3, 2008. Under the direction of Stein and HLS Professor and HPOD Chair William Alford ’77, the project has been working to foster the convention’s implementation. HPOD’s work is concentrated mainly in Bangladesh, China, Korea, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam, with growing requests for its assistance from several other nations. HPOD offers scholarly research, legislative development, training programs for disabled persons organizations, and assistance to foreign academic institutions.