Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; May 30, 2018)

How can we get India to talk about menstrual hygiene, a topic which has always been tiptoed around? Akshay Kumar has the reply – “Show them my movie Pad Man.” On Monday, which was the Menstrual Hygiene Day, Akshay was in Delhi to attend the launch of a movement to create awareness about menstrual hygiene. The movement, called Niine, is a five-year plan by social entrepreneur Amar Tulsiyan, and aims at raising awareness about the importance of menstrual hygiene across the country.

Shabana Azmi, who was part of a panel discussion at the event, was introduced there as the only celebrity who spoke about menstrual hygiene in public sphere in the ’90s. “From the ’90s to the Niine movement, the very idea that men can talk about giving sanitary napkins when being tied a rakhi (in the context of Pad Man) is so revolutionary that even I would not have thought of it,” she said. Dozens of Delhiites from different fields participated in the discussion, and the experts who were part of the two panel discussions urged both men and women to do away with the stigma surrounding menstruation.

Akshay told the audience that his film Toilet - Ek Prem Katha is being shown in small towns through government initiatives, and it has not only started a conversation about the importance of toilets, but also brought about change. He also mentioned that soon, Pad Man will also be shown across the country. “Commercial cinema creates an impact because the audience relates to actors. People want to see hero-heroine falling in love, fighting with parents, fighting with villains. And that’s why documentary films don’t work. What we want is change, we want everyone to come out in the open and talk about periods as it’s a very natural thing.”

Akshay also sang a song, Let’s Talk About Periods, for the audience. At the event, the attendees spoke about how menstruating women are forbidden from entering temples and touching foods because they are considered impure. And even women don’t want to talk about it. Akshay also felicitated nine people for spreading awareness on menstrual hygiene across the country.