‘PadMan’ producer Twinkle Khanna revealed that Akshay Kumar was not the first choice for the film. She said Balki convinced her that Akshay should play the role of Arunachalam Muruganantham in the film. She said she had some name in her mind for the lead role.Twinkle, said, "No. R Balki convinced me that Akshay should do this part." When further asked who would have been her choice for the role she said, "Are you trying to create trouble in my marriage now?"
Akshay quipped, "You already said that now (I was not your first choice for the film), there is already a problem."
Twinkle further added, "The thing is if we had somebody who the Indian public idolises and men look up to and he who could wear a sanitary pad, I think (it is) Akshay. I think what Balki has made Akshay do, and of course, Akshay is very talented, I don't think anyone could have played it better than him."
"Once I came across the story of Muruganantham I felt it has to reach across states, borders, religions...and there are only two things that work in this country - cricket and cinema. Our cricketers have their own pads and they are busy with that. So we needed cinema to tell this story, I just had his (Balki) name on my mind. I have seen his films and have liked it. He is a sensitive filmmaker, he understands women partly because of his wife Gauri Shinde, she is a good influence on him," Twinkle said.
Twinkle said when it comes to showcasing woman-centric issues; the mindset of people needs to change in the first place. “As women, we’ve actually just begun our journey, the journey of wanting equality. We’ve begun our journey, as you can see all over the world, to not being discriminated because of our biology or our gender. So I’d say that there are a lot of things we need to work towards. One, there is an inherent thought process, a mind set even liberated people have while raising their daughters, as well as inculcating the right values in your daughter and it is very important what values you inculcate in your sons. So, I think that is a process that we need to start, and I think it has begun.”
‘PadMan’ is slated to release on 26th January. Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte also play lead roles in the film.
