Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 25, 2018)

It's rare that the promotion of a Bollywood film does more than speak about its own relevance. But Akshay Kumar is trying to trigger a social change in the run-up to the release of Pad Man, his upcoming film that is based on Arunachalam Muruganantham who devised a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine. mid-day has learnt that Kumar is launching an initiative, Pad Bank for Daughters of Maharashtra, which will provide sanitary napkins to women in villages of Maharashtra, free of cost. In collaboration with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the state government, the initiative will be launched in several villages including Latur, Solapur and Jalgaon, tomorrow.

The state government has sponsored about 20 sanitary napkin dispensers, which will be installed in dispensaries in these villages. An insider informs that given its plan to penetrate the grassroot level, the initiative will also rely on donation. “The campaign can be sustained by donation — be it monetary or of packets of pads. The team has reached out to schools and colleges of cities in Maharashtra, urging the students to donate. The funds will then be used to build more sanitary napkin dispensers in different villages,” says the source.

Kumar said, “CM Sir and I have been discussing this initiative for quite some time. We want Maharashtra to be the first state where every woman has access to sanitary pad. Menstrual hygiene is a necessity, not a luxury.”

If the model succeeds in the state, the actor intends to pitch it to central government for other states to adopt.