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Audio Description · Gujarati (ગુજરાતી)

Gujarati Audio Description Services

Gujarati audio description for films, written and voiced by native Gujarati speakers, delivered for CBFC certification, DCP and OTT, and playing in any cinema on KinoSync.

Gujarati cinema and accessibility

Gujarati cinema has grown into a confident urban industry with family comedies, dramas and festival-season releases that sell out in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Mumbai. Almost none of it has ever been accessible. KinoSync has more Gujarati films with audio description and closed captions than any other catalogue, and they are watched in ordinary cinemas across Gujarat on the audience member's own phone.

Gujarati is spoken across Gujarat, Mumbai, and the large Gujarati diaspora in the UK, the US and East Africa, and a Gujarati release now needs same-language closed captions and audio description for CBFC certification. 7 Gujarati films already play with audio descriptionon KinoSync, in ordinary cinemas, on the audience member's own phone.

Gujarati audio description: what changes

Gujarati family films are built on ensemble scenes: a joint family at the dining table, a wedding, a neighbourhood argument, with six people talking over one another. The describer's job is to keep the audience oriented, naming who has entered, who is reacting, and what a glance between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law means, all in the narrow gaps the dialogue leaves. Kinship terms matter here. A description that says 'the older woman' when the film means 'ba' loses the relationship the scene depends on.

Gujarati has distinct regional speech, from Kathiawadi to Surti to the Ahmedabad urban register, and the narration should sound like it belongs in the same world as the characters. We cast Gujarati narrators, not Hindi narrators reading Gujarati, and we write the description in the same colloquial Gujarati the film uses. Comedy timing gets particular care: the description must land the visual gag before the laugh, never explain it afterwards.

Audio description for CBFC certification

Under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's accessibility guidelines for feature films (issued 15 March 2024) and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 2024, feature films submitted for CBFC certification from 15 March 2026 must carry closed captions and audio description. The files are uploaded with the certification application, and the CBFC checks that they are present before the certificate is issued. A missing track means a withheld certificate and a delayed release. Regional-office practice varies in the details, so we confirm the exact submission format with your censor agent at briefing.

The requirement is for same-language audio description: a Hindi film is described in Hindi, a Gujarati film in Gujarati. An English description does not satisfy it and does not serve the audience. We write and voice in the language of the film with native-speaker describers, and we deliver the file in the form the submission needs alongside the closed caption file, so the two tracks go in together.

  • Same-language narration by native-speaker describers and voice artists
  • Standard audio description in the natural pauses, extended description where a film leaves no pauses
  • Delivered as the file the certification upload requires, with the matching closed caption track
  • Available for theatrical, OTT and broadcast versions of the same title from one script

Working back from the certification date

Typical durations for a feature-length film from locked picture. Dates are confirmed at briefing.

  1. 1Locked picture and briefDay 0We need the locked edit with timecode, the dialogue script and any director's notes. Picture changes after this point mean re-spotting the affected reels.
  2. 2Spotting and script7 to 10 working daysEvery cue is mapped and written by a native-speaker describer, then edited for timing, clarity and spoilers. You review the script before recording.
  3. 3Recording2 to 3 working daysA professional narrator records in a treated studio. You can approve the voice from samples before the session.
  4. 4Mix, QC and conform3 to 5 working daysThe narration is mixed and ducked, every cue is checked against picture, and files are conformed for the DCP lab, the certification upload and each platform.
  5. 5DeliveryAbout 3 weeks from locked pictureTypical for a feature. Shorter schedules are possible for shorter films or when the script can start on a near-locked cut; we confirm dates at briefing.

Delivery specification

ScriptTimecoded description script (DOCX or PDF, plus CSV on request), reviewed against the locked edit
Narration stemDescription-only audio, 48 kHz / 24-bit WAV, cue-aligned to picture
AD mixNarration mixed with your full mix and ducked under dialogue, stereo or 5.1 as your lab or platform specifies
CinemaAdditional audio track for your DCP via your lab, and a synced KinoSync track for any screening
OTT and broadcastSeparate AD audio track to the platform's delivery specification (Netflix, Prime Video, JioHotstar, ZEE5, Sony LIV and broadcasters)
CBFCAD file in the form required for the certification upload, supplied with the closed caption file
LanguagesHindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Haryanvi and English, with native-speaker describers and narrators

How we work

  1. 1Brief & spotWe review the locked edit and map every description cue.
  2. 2ScriptSpecialist describers write narration tuned to tone and pacing.
  3. 3RecordProfessional voice artists record in a treated studio.
  4. 4QC & deliverWe check every cue against picture and deliver to spec.

Frequently asked

Do you have native Gujarati describers and narrators?

Yes. Gujarati audio description is written and voiced by native Gujarati speakers, in the register of the film, not translated from a Hindi or English script. The narrator is cast for the genre and you can approve the voice from samples before recording.

Which Gujarati films already have audio description on KinoSync?

7 Gujarati films currently play with audio description on KinoSync: Badhu Alright Che, Masti Ni Pathshala 2, Tom And Cherry and 4 more. Each has its own page on this site with the tracks it carries, and the track plays in any cinema showing the film.

Does Gujarati audio description satisfy the CBFC requirement for a Gujarati film?

Yes. The certification requirement is for same-language accessibility files, so a Gujarati feature needs Gujarati audio description. We deliver the file in the form required for the certification upload, together with the closed caption file, and confirm the submission format with your censor agent.

How do Gujarati-speaking audiences get the track in a cinema?

Through KinoSync. The Gujarati audio description track is published on the KinoSync app and plays on the viewer's own phone, synced to the screening, in any cinema showing the film. Theatres install nothing and there is no separate accessible showing.