Talking about ‘Menstruation’ which till date is considered a stigma in Indian society may not have become a buzz word among all classes, if ‘Pad Man--Arunachalam Muruganantham’ story would not have been brought into a limelight. Muruganantham has done much to create awareness about menstrual hygiene among rural women. The movie that created much hype among all received a positive response from public here in Capital City on the first day.
Film lovers taking time out of their busy schedule visited the multiplexes to catch the latest story of an unsung hero. String of myths associated with ‘PERIODS’ and more than that the taboos associated with the use of sanitary pads is slowly getting petered out, all thanks to a Bollywood flick- ‘Pad Man-Superhero Hai Yeh Pagla’. The trade analysts and multiplex owners have already declared this feature film a Super-hit with box-office collection to go high during the weekends beating all other releases.
“With series of hard-hitting social satires portraying the real picture of society on screens has become a fast catching trend in Bollywood for pulling the movies buffs to the theaters. Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Pad Man’ has touched upon a subject which nobody likes to utter freely. The level of enthusiasm is simply mind-blowing. The film will do a good business in the coming days,” said, Manager, Eyelex Cinemas.
Not Just the topic but the campaign ‘The Pad Man Challenge’ where an individual taking up this tackle head on has to post a picture holding a sanitary napkin on social networking sites has kindled everyone’s mind to watch the biography of Muruganantham. From college goers to Housewives, all wants to keep their date reserved for watching this movie.
“I have never imagined that someone can make a movie on ‘menstruation’ also. This is actually a great effort from the filmmakers’ side. The endeavor will create awareness and eradicate prevalent superstitions across the country surrounding sanitary pads use, monthly cycle etc,” said, lavanya Prakash, a college student.
Besides females, a few men also appreciated this movie subject. “Ace Actor, Akshay Kumar is making apt choices for entertaining audiences through satirical comedy movies touching upon pivotal issues. I am making a plan to watch this film with family members,” said, Nalin Kumar.
Though the sophisticated and urban populace appears completely fine with this new argot where public through start-ups, awareness campaign are enthusiastically cashing in on the opportunity but the rural belts people seem to be fighting against this taboo even after so much advancement.
A social activist Mangesh Jha aka Pad Man of Jharkhand said that State government must screen the movie in the interior parts of State then only the real purpose of making such movies will be fulfilled. “I am trying to contact a concerned person from State Government side for aiding my team to show this film in the rural belts of the Jharkhand. According to NFHS-4 data, 81 percent women in rural Jharkhand practice unsafe measures during menstruation.”
A survey concentrated in North India reflected that only 10-11 per cent of the respondents used sanitary pads as a menstrual absorbent, with the majority using non-disposable cloths.“Unavailability and high costs of sanitary napkins, lack of knowledge on usage including its disposal issues are the major barriers in usage of sanitary pads by rural womenfolk,” added Jha.