Arunachalam Muruganantham the original pad man of India was recently in the city to address students and watch the film with them. In an interaction with a leading media portal, he spoke about his film 'PadMan'. When asked if he had ever thought that he will make a film on sanitary napkins, he said, "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."
When asked why he opted for Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar, he said, "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."
Asked if he was completely satisfied with the outcome of the film, he said, "Yes, indeed. Eighty-five percent 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."
Asked if the film will be remade in another language, he said, "Talks are going on to remake it in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, but nothing has been finalised yet. I think Dhanush would be apt to do the role. I would love to see him play the lead role if the film has a Tamil version." Stay tuned for more updates.
