BOLLYWOOD actor Akshay Kumar got down and dirty last year to highlight the importance of using toilets and the epidemic of open defecation in his birth country through the hit Hindi dramedy, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (Toilet: A Love Story).
For his latest film, Pad Man, which opened in India in January, the 50-year-old actor, producer and TV personality had set his focus on another uncommon but significant topic: menstrual hygiene.
The film is screening in selected cinemas in Malaysia.
In explaining his decision to take on the film projects, he reportedly said entertainment was the best way to spread crucial social messages.
In a news report by the Hindustan Times, he said: “Nobody is interested in speeches or documentaries. They are more interested in knowing about a subject through films.”
Pad Man is based on a short story titled The Sanitary Man of Sacred Land, which was inspired by the life of a Tamil Nadu-based social activist, Arunachalam Muruganantham, who created a cheap sanitary napkin machine that revolutionised the concept of menstrual hygiene in rural India.
“Menstrual hygiene should be part of the educational system. There is nothing on menstruation. Even if there is something on the subject, it is only for girls. That is the worst part. Boys should be included in this conversation,” said the actor, whose 25-year career has seen him appear in more than 100 Hindi films.
The father of two added: “The idea was to break the taboo.”
It was reported that Akshay had kick-started several ambitious projects across India to bring awareness and change to the lives of women.
An example was the Ashmita Yojana initiative, an enterprise started by the government of the west-central Indian state of Maharashtra, to distribute subsidised sanitary napkins to women in rural areas.
Free screenings of the film are expected to take place in rural villages.
Aside from Akshay starring as the titular lead, the R. Balki-directed hit film also stars Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte, with Amitabh Bachchan as the narrator who makes a cameo appearance.