Sanitary napkins might not be a huge deal to most places on earth, but in India, it’s still a big issue. It’s a big issue because many girls from poor families cannot afford to buy sanitary napkins. Due to this situation, a man named A.Muruganantham decided to do his part by inventing low-cost sanitary napkin machines. Can you believe it took a man to do that?
Twinkle Khanna was very interested in the role that this man played in helping poor ladies afford their sanitary pads. So, she chased him for one and a half years to get the rights of his biography. He wasn’t ready to give it, but both Twinkle and Akshay made a good impression on him that he decided to give it to them. Now, what we are wondering is if they will donate the profit that this film will make to this sanitary cause?
The film will be titled ‘Pad Man’ and will be directed by R.Balki, the same man that directed ‘Ki & Ka’, ‘Cheeni Kum’ and ‘Paa’. Here’s Arunachalam Muruganantham in his own words.
Arunachalam Muruganantham Interview
A.Muruganantham on how Twinkle Khanna chased him
This is not one of those movies that happened in a day or week. It has taken 1.5 years for us to give it a shape. A girl called Twinkle (Khanna) had been chasing me endlessly for rights. She tracked my every move. She desperately tried to reach me when I was in Malaysia and New York. She finally caught me in London. My friends were curious why would Twinkle want to meet me. It was only then I learnt she is Rajesh Khanna’s daughter. I remember telling her, ‘Akshay Kumar has also been trying to get me for the rights.’ She’d laughed and said, ‘Yes, he is my husband.'”
A.Muruganantham on meeting Akshay Kumar
He is extremely humble and down to earth. The day I met him I was going for a lecture to a woman’s college. He was hell-bent on coming with me because he wanted to see me give a speech. Twinkle had to stop him because the project was in the early stages then and they didn’t want the media to get a whiff of it.
A.Muruganantham on wanting a Hollywood Film not Hindi Film to be made on his life
I rarely watch Hindi films, but after meeting Akshay I watched Airlift and Baby. I didn’t want to give the rights to anyone in India. But, I didn’t have the heart to turn down Akshay and Twinkle. They were so passionate about the story that I had to give it to them. I am proud that for the first time in the history of world cinema a mainstream male superstar will talk about menstruation sanitary napkins in a full feature length Hindi film,” shared Muruganantham, before signing off.
Believe us when we say, girls still have that trouble in India. Not only that, there are hundreds of myths. All that suggest that girls getting their period is a dirty thing and they should be isolated once they start menstruating. There’s more and it’s bad. It’s sad, but it’s true as well.
If you can do your part in helping underprivileged girls and women, here’s where you can contribute:
Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE)
https://www.facebook.com/MenstrualHygieneDay
If you want to know more about this issue, here are some reliable sources:
Why Should Girls Quit Schools Once They Get Their Periods? Two Women in Mumbai Fight the Taboo.
5 Amazing Companies Working In Menstrual Hygiene
My country’s problem with menstruation
Helping Women and Girls. Period.