Promises and perils of robot-mediated elder care: human-robot relationship in Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 (2019) and Anukul (2017)- SDG -3

Utilizing robots as caregivers or companions instead of humans is a scenario that raised significant moral and ethical concerns, that can be assessed from the ambit of health humanities. Under the norm of ‘care’, the human caregiver has a heavily naturalized and paramount role to play. However, what would happen if these roles were taken up by robots? This study explores the rare phenomena of utilizing robotic caregivers for the elderly in two Indian films, Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 and Anukul, through the lens of the health humanities. It examines how these films, as cultural texts, reflect and shape societal attitudes towards aging, caregiving, and human-robot interactions in the context of India. The potential of films as a source for nuanced depictions of aging has been severely understudied in academia. This research seeks to bridge this gap by assessing the technological mediation of caregiving depicted in the selected films and the ethical implications that arise from this. It mainly employs film analysis as its methodology, scrutinizes scenes and themes, and focuses on the roles of these robots as caregivers and companions. Additionally, it explores the ethical implications that arise from utilizing robots in elderly care in the context of the selected films. Overall, this study contributes to the field of health humanities and film studies by offering insights into the cultural representations of aging and technological care and their potential impact on societal attitudes and policy decisions.