3 min readNew DelhiMar 3, 2022 10:30 AM IST
First published on: Mar 3, 2022 at 10:29 AM IST
On Tuesday, 23-year-old Kavya Mukhija and her family were excited to find a theatre that was wheelchair-accessible near their house in Dwarka. They booked tickets for the 6.10 pm show of Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi through bookmyshow.in, which showed that the PVR at Vegas Mall was wheelchair accessible. But they landed there to find that the seats were just regular ones. When Kavya was asked to move from her wheelchair to the regular seats, she refused, following which she was asked to sit next to a row of stairs near the exit, away from her family.
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The 23-year-old suffers from a condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, which limits her joint movement. “I told them that the seat was not wheelchair-accessible as claimed on the app. The PVR staff told me that the cinema hall was wheelchair accessible because the wheelchair can enter the theatre. I was at a loss for words. How can you ask someone to remove their assistive device? I can’t shift. My wheelchair is made in such a way that provides me utmost comfort,” she said.
After the movie, she said, the manager of the PVR apologised and promised to communicate Kavya’s complaints with the management.
In 2018, PVR had started the ‘accessible cinema program’, in a bid to make its cinemas more accessible to persons with disabilities.
Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Limited, said in a statement, “In the first phase (of the accessibility programme), announced on December 3, 2018, 50 theatres in 30 cities were upgraded and equipped with assistive equipment and technology to enable people with physical, hearing and speech and visual incapacities to enjoy films. The second phase was to be announced in April 2020 with 32 stair climbers imported from Europe to retrofit cinemas that have steps at both entrance and exit enabling people with mobility issues to enjoy films. This phase got delayed due to the (Covid) pandemic as the cinema exhibition sector was the worst hit sector. We were forced to completely shut down during two covid waves with restrictions in seating capacity and operating restrictions. Still today, we are operating at variable operating capacities across the country. Since the Accessible Cinema program requires investment in infrastructure in the development stages, the programme was brought to a temporary pause. However as operating restrictions get lifted and the business resumes normalcy, PVR is committed to revive its Accessible Cinema Program.”
Bookmyshow was not available for a comment.
After the movie, she said, the manager of the PVR apologised and promised to communicate Kavya’s complaints with the management. (Representational)
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