Everybody is concerned about sanitary hygiene in the rural areas of India. For the last year, it has been Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar who has just finished shooting a social biopic called Padman based on Tamil entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganatham who invented low-cost sanitary napkins to generate awareness in rural areas about its usage and hygiene. Today it was Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar who raised the issue in an interview to Times of India.
Manushi, who at 20 is a cardiac surgeon in the making, said one of her most passionate causes would be menstrual hygiene. Talking about her MBBS study work, Manushi said she was distressed to find that “Women in rural Haryana had no access to sanitary pads and some felt shy asking shopkeepers for pads”. The Haryana beauty studying at the Bhagat Phool Singh Government Medical College for Women in Sonepat wants to turn the spotlight on menstrual hygiene in the country now.
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She used the Miss World platform to highlight the urgent need for increased menstrual hygiene awareness in India. She said, “I am not yet a doctor but I am not voiceless. And this voice, and the desire to use it to make a difference in the world around me, drove me to start Project Shakti which aims to address an issue faced by millions of women in India – that lack of access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene management.”
In what appears to be perfect timing with the Miss World’s social comment, Akshay Kumar released the second poster of Padman this morning. The film that is directed by R. Balki is based on the story The Sanitary Man from the book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad by Twinkle Khanna. Padman marks Twinkle’s debut in film production with her studio Mrs. Funnybones Movies. Akshay Kumar plays Arunachalam who was recognized for his work and awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India last year.
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The film’s shooting was reportedly completed in a record 37 days in Indore and around Delhi. Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor completed the last schedule of Padman in New York last week. The climax of the film was shot at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan. The Padman team received special permission to shoot there because the film’s story appealed to the UN which accords top priority to sanitary awareness and hygiene.
