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| Arunachalam Muruganantham, Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna |
Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor starrer
film PadMan is running successfully on the box office. The movie is based on
the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, inventor of low-cost sanitary napkins
for women in rural areas. Film PadMan is helmed by R Balki and
produced by Twinkle Khanna under her home banner Mrs Funnybones Productions.
Arunachalam Muruganantham, in a media chat with a tabloid,
was questioned if he had ever thought of making a movie on sanitary pads. On
this, he revealed, "I had been getting queries from regional filmmakers to
do a movie based on my work. But I did not want my work and mission — to create
awareness on menstrual hygiene — to be restricted to only a part of the
country. In fact, I wanted to do the movie in Hollywood. But I realised that it
would take at least a decade to become a reality. So, I went ahead with a movie
in Hindi."
In choosing Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar for
this film, he revealed, "There were offers from a few Bollywood
filmmakers, but I was skeptical as to whether those films will do justice to my
vision or even my life. I was also apprehensive because what if I sign an
agreement and give the rights to some filmmaker, and he shelves the project?
The purpose might get lost. That’s when Twinkle spoke to me. She had written a
story on me and their terms were transparent. They stuck to their words, and in
fact, completed the film in nine months."
About the response on the film, Arunachalam said "Yes,
indeed. Eighty-five per cent of the things shown in the movie are true.
Probably this is the only movie in the world, which has thrown light on
menstrual hygiene and a hero holding or wearing a sanitary napkin. This has
created a conversation, which means, people have started talking about female
personal hygiene. This helps to create awareness. Since the movie is in Hindi,
it helps reach out to more audience. I have been working in north Indian
villages, so I know the truth. Compared to the south Indian states, north India
is less developed and there’s little awareness on menstrual hygiene. That’s why
we decided to select Madhya Pradesh, central India, as the setting for the
movie. We wanted the movie to reach out to a larger population. Though we were
apprehensive of facing some issues in the Arab countries, the movie has
released in all places, except Pakistan. It’s a great achievement for us."
Talking about his own experience, he said, "I suffered
a lot when I tried to make sanitary napkins and promote the idea. My family —
including my mother and wife — deserted me. Villagers even tied me to a tree
and beat me. But after seeing me successful now, they come and say that they
all knew that I would become famous one day. Some say I have wide forehead and
that’s why I got name and fame; some others say, the lines in my palm indicated
popularity, and so on. To sum up, they are all now proud of me and my work. The
film could achieve which I could not in the last 18 years, to create a
conversation on menstrual hygiene. That said, the only drawback the film has
brought to me, personally, is that I’m not able to convince my wife that I
never had a love affair. The film shows my character having a lover and she
believes that it’s true. Till now, she remains unconvinced."
