About Crips on Celluloid?

Crips on Celluloid is a platform dedicated to critically reviewing films, television series, and other media that feature central characters with disabilities or explore disability-related themes. This is a one-person initiative—a singular effort to interrogate ableism in cinema and advocate for authentic, nuanced disability representation in popular culture.

What Is Reviewed

The platform critically examines a wide range of media, including:

• Feature films

• Television series and miniseries

• Documentaries

• Web series

• Short films

• Animated content

The Approach

Critical Analysis: The platform provides thorough examinations of how disabilities are portrayed across various media, drawing on contemporary disability scholarship, Crip Theory, and intersectional disability studies.

• Interrogating Ableism: Reviews identify and analyse instances of ableism, stereotyping, misrepresentation, and the perpetuation of harmful tropes such as inspiration porn, tragedy narratives, and the medicalisation of disability.

• Recognising Authentic Representation: The platform highlights media that offer respectful, complex, and empowering depictions of disabled individuals—particularly those created with meaningful participation of disabled actors, writers, and directors.

• Fostering Discourse: Through reviews and articles, the platform aims to educate audiences about disability issues and encourage critical engagement with media representation, grounded in frameworks such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and Indian disability jurisprudence.

• Advocating for Inclusion: Crips on Celluloid consistently calls for greater inclusion of disabled actors, writers, directors, and crew members in the entertainment industry—not as tokenistic gestures but as essential contributors to authentic storytelling.

Why This Matters

Media representation profoundly shapes societal perceptions and attitudes towards disability. By critically examining disability representation in film and television, this platform seeks to:

• Challenge harmful stereotypes and dismantle misconceptions that perpetuate discrimination

• Encourage diverse, authentic storytelling that moves beyond pity, charity, and medicalised narratives

• Centre disabled voices and experiences in cultural discourse

• Promote a more inclusive society that recognises disability as a social, cultural, and political identity rather than merely a medical condition

About the Founder:

Crips on Celluloid is the work of Nilesh Singit, a disability rights activist, accessibility consultant, and social entrepreneur based in Bombay, India. With over two decades of experience in disability rights and inclusion, Nilesh brings both lived experience and professional expertise to this platform.

Crips on Celluloid represents a commitment to bridge the gap between the disability community and the media industry, advocating for a media landscape that is genuinely inclusive and representative—not merely performatively so. Visit https://www.nileshsingit.org/ to learn more about Nilesh's work.