With PadMan now finally in theatres, Twinkle Khanna's virtuosity as a producer and author is all set to be tested. I say author along with producer because while PadMan is her maiden production at Mrs Funnybones Films, the film is in fact based on a story from her book, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad. Twinkle Khanna first stumbled upon Arunachalam Muruganantham's story - the man whose life PadMan is based on - while doing some research for a column on menstruation. Twinkle was was clearly inspired enough by it to then tell his story in her book and now convert it into a film.
Naturally, Muruganantham's story and the work that he does is something that seems to have hit home with Twinkle and many other women alike. It's no wonder that Twinkle and the rest of the PadMan team have gone to great lengths to promote this film. Anybody who has a sense of marketing today understands the power held by social media in that aspect. The Padman team is clearly far from aloof about the powers of social media and the impact it can have - the PadMan challenge started by Muruganantham is proof of that.
While promoting the film Twinkle Khanna made her way all the way to Oxford to give a talk. While there were many things said by Twinkle at the session at Oxford Union that were lauded and appreciated by people back at home, there was one thing she said in particular that stood out for me. It was that about men and menstruation. "For so many years I've never heard men talk about menstruation, I've never heard them talk about sanitary pads. Now I see groups of men sitting and talking about it. Even if they're sitting and discussing whether to go see PadMan or not, they're addressing something." she said.
Addressing a question about why she chose Akshay Kumar as the lead, Twinkle added, "There's a documentary on Muruganantham and how many have seen that? No. But there will still be a large percentage who will see a movie that is commercial in that way and if I wanted a large number of people to see this movie then I needed to cast somebody who is an A-list star. If you take somebody who is idolised by so many people and he's holding a sanitary pad in his hand or rather, wearing it in a pink underwear, then I've already cut across many taboos."
There is something to be said about the understanding with which Twinkle addressed the issue and it's hard not to agree. In a country where male stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan are given almost god status, it would take an A-list star, or stars, holding sanitary pads in their own hands in front of the entire world to cut across a taboo. This is why the men who took up the PadMan challenge might have actually done more than they think they have.
Here are a few of them -
Thank you @mrsfunnybones
— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) February 2, 2018
Yes, that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period. #PadManChallenge. Copy, Paste this & Challenge your friends to take a photo with a Pad. Here I am Challenging @SrBachchan , @iamsrk & @BeingSalmanKhanpic.twitter.com/lY7DEevDmD
Thank you for tagging me @murugaofficial
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) February 2, 2018
Yes, that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period. #PadManChallenge
Copy, Paste this & Challenge your friends to take a photo with a Pad!
Here I am Challenging @deepikapadukone@imVkohli@aliaa08pic.twitter.com/KperUmkSGw
I accept this challenge @radhika_apte. And now I nominate @psbhumi@sanyamalhotra07 and @RajkummarRao for the #PadManChallenge Go for it guys! pic.twitter.com/RWinMmB9uh
— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) February 3, 2018
Thank you for tagging me @sonamakapoor
— Arjun Kapoor (@arjunk26) February 3, 2018
Yes, that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed. #PadManChallenge
Here I am challenging @Varun_dvn@ParineetiChopra@AnilKapoorpic.twitter.com/6ERcZPTlLo
#PadmanChallenge:
— Tiger Shroff (@iTIGERSHROFF) February 7, 2018
Challenge accepted @Varun_dvn@AnushkaSharma YES, that's a Pad in my hand and there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! #Period.
P.S congratulations @akshaykumar sir @sonamakapoor, looking forward seeing your superheroic performance this friday! pic.twitter.com/ghVg8GCofT
yes thats a pad in my hand and theres nothing to b ashamed of... #overallhygienefirst
— Jackie Shroff (@bindasbhidu) February 8, 2018
Best Wishes #Padman@akshaykumar@mrsfunnybonespic.twitter.com/9PJdei25qs
All the best to my Superhero @akshaykumar for @padmanthefilm ! In theatres today! pic.twitter.com/9xHJUEJKcw
— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) February 9, 2018
Pad in hand! Nothing to be Ashamed of! PERIOD. Wishing #padman big success ! Can't wait to see it this friday! @akshaykumar@mrsfunnybones@sonamakapoor@radhika_apte ! Passing the challenge to @shahidkapoor@RanveerOfficial@ektaravikapoorpic.twitter.com/ZZr2zgzOyl
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) February 5, 2018
Thank you @arjunk26.@RajkummarRao & I are just out here hanging out in a chemist's shop holding a pad.
— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) February 4, 2018
Yes, that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period. @PadManTheFilm#PadManChallenge.
I challenge @Oprah@MadhuriDixit & @priyankachoprapic.twitter.com/5IPPyCozrU
Me and @AnushkaSharma just holding a pad no big deal. Best of luck @akshaykumar@sonamakapoor@radhika_apte for #PaDman. Nominating @karanjohar#katrina@iTIGERSHROFF . It was discussed and these are both our nominations!!! pic.twitter.com/A8pTM67zrT
— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) February 5, 2018
"Period shaming" might not be a phrase that is used all that often, but the very concept of it is not one that is innocuous. Think walking into a store to buy something as essential as sanitary napkins and hesitating to say it loud enough for even the man at the counter to be able to hear you. Think the embarrassment with which the man finally having heard you quickly tells his helper to pack it in a 'black polythene'. And think walking out of the store, even more embarrassed because now everyone knows you're on your period. Your period - something that is not just natural, but the normalcy of which also indicates the health of a female to a large extent.
One wonders whether the concept of being sheepish and shy and in many parts of our country and others, ashamed about menstruation is really a concept ignited by men. The men who sit at pharmacy counters smirking as you ask them to hand you the specific pack of sanitary pads that you use. The men at office who make you feel obligated to hide your sanitary pad in the back pocket of your jeans or a pouch when walking to the loo with one; because they are unable to help themselves becoming red-faced if they see you holding one. The men who then pass down these taboos about a woman's period and it being forbidden territory, a forbidden word, a concept never to be discussed, to their sons.
Or, do we attribute the bizarre coyness around the issue of menstruation to the women who taught us it 'wasn't right' to talk about our period. That 'good girls from good families' didn't wave their pads in men's faces. They didn't enter the mandir or go into the kitchen or even go to school for that matter when they were on their period - as though it were a lethal, communicable disease. Surely, our grandmas, moms, teachers can all be attributed a part of the blame in giving birth to this stigma surrounding periods, even in our own minds.
Either way, with films like Padman, there does seem to be a surge in a positive direction. It might not reach or affect one and all, but at this point, baby steps is what it's going to take. With a male star like Akshay Kumar in the lead and superstars from varied fields taking up the PadMan challenge, one can but hope that men everywhere take note and realise that "It's natural. Period."
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