Filmmaker Namya Chadha Turns Hearing Impairments Into A Visual Language

When Namya Chadha first got a camera in the 11th standard, she hadn't anticipated that her passion for storytelling could one day take her to the international stage. In fact, even when her recent film Behind The Ears was nominated for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, she was in disbelief that her work had gained such recognition. "It is still sinking in," she told me. "Coming from Meerut, people have had a different level of awareness about disabilities all my life. So I am glad I got a start in my own country; this is where the awareness begins."

Speaking to Namya was like catching up with a dear friend whose eyes light up when she is talking about her dreams. "This is my first time doing an interview," she shared, expressing equal parts excitement and nervousness. She speaks with a mix of humility and imagination, making it easy to see what makes her films so deeply resonant.

Namya, who is hard of hearing, calls her hearing aids her 'strength', and uses filmmaking to explore different layers of disabilities and social justice. Namya pursued Film and Video Communication from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and also participated in an exchange programme at the Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem.

"Making films is helping me learn more about my identity," Namya shared. "I didn't know that I was going to pursue filmmaking. It was my parents who saw the 'visual' side of me, and I got my first camera. That's when I started having this passion for storytelling and talking about my emotions through it."

Behind the Ears

From a graduation project to international cinema circuits, Namya's recent film, Behind the Ears, is redefining how we view invisible disabilities in cinema. The film follows two women, Janhavi Khemka and Lavannya Balakrishnan, as they navigate their strengths, challenges, and inner reflections as Indian women living with hearing impairments. 

Janhavi, an alumna of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is deaf. She and Namya were connected through their respective college mentors. Meanwhile, Lavannya, who was Namya's roommate at NID, is hard of hearing. Putting invisible disabilities on screen was no small undertaking, as Namya wanted to portray their individual experiences authentically.

"Knowing them personally really helped. While shooting, I learnt more about their different modes of communication and accessibility needs, which I communicate through the film," Namya shared. Her directorial has earned praise at the Beyond Feminist Film Festival 2025, the Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2025, and most recently, at the IFFM 2025. 

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Accessibility, representation, companionship

Over the course of filming Behind the Ears, Namya's bond with Janhavi and Lavannya has grown stronger and more purposeful. "We still text each other, reminiscing about scenes in the film," she said. She also shared how such female companionships have been influential to her, as well as the larger community of Indian women living with disabilities.

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"Now that the film is made, I have realised the power of friendships among the women living with disabilities in India. I have talked to a lot of people abroad, but the context here and there is still different, so we need more [safe spaces] within India itself. For example, Janhavi and Lavannya are still in the process of accepting their disabilities. We all have different kinds of journeys, and this film helped us a lot in processing that."

Namya believes that representation in film has the power to rewrite societal narratives, especially for underrepresented voices like people with disabilities, women, or queer people. But there are still many cracks that need to be filled in the Indian film landscape. "Accessibility continues to be a big gap. Something basic like subtitles is still treated as 'optional,'" she shared.

Namya's films are an evocative experiment between sound, silence, visuals, and colours. She is working on a film that will capture her personal experience as a hard-of-hearing person. "I want to make a film about how I perceive sound, and create an experience that even people who don't wear hearing aids can understand. It is still in the works."

Looking ahead

Now back in the city where she grew up, Namya Chadha is reflective about her younger self. "I am really grateful for my parents and brother, who have made a space for me where they didn't think I was 'different' or had a 'weakness'. Even though they had no idea how I would adapt to hearing aids, they always saw it as a strength, and that made half the things really easy for me."

"There was a time when I did not have the confidence to talk about my disability, or even ask people to repeat themselves or provide captions, etc. But now I am making films not just for me but for other people with disabilities too... It is still hard to believe where I started and where I am now. I am so thankful," Namya Chadha expressed, before quickly adding, "Touch wood!"