PadMan trailer: Akshay Kumar plays India’s much needed menstrual man, Bollywood applauds this ‘real superhero’

Can films turn the tide on taboos? Akshay Kumar sure believes  so and after delivering Toilet Ek Prem Katha, he is now back with PadMan. As the Padman trailer was revealed this morning, one thing is clear -- it is going to normalise the discussion around menstrual hygiene. The film, which also stars Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in lead roles, promises to be the story of a social awakening, told through the lens of humour.

The trailer begins with a narration from Amitabh Bachchan who calls PadMan India’s answer to the superheroes of the US. Akshay has the idea to make sanitary napkins for women and is even shown trying some on in a pink underwear himself. He pitches the idea to his sisters and his wife (Radhika Apte), who all feel ashamed to even discuss the sanitary health with their brother and husband respectively.

Embarrassed by his noble pursuits, his wife leaves him and the people of his village shun him. That is until hope



walks back into his life in the form of a social worker (Sonam Kapoor) who helps him realise his dreams.

Soon, the village embarrassment’s venture takes off, women buy his pads and IITians study him and his work.

Radhika plays Akshay’s wife and the inspiration behind all that he accomplished for women’s menstrual health. Sonam is the one who helps him do it all. All actors fit their roles quite well but Radhika shines the brightest with her innocent charm.

In this R Balki-directorial, the Toilet: Ek Prem Katha star is stepping into the shoes of national hero Arunachalam Muruganantham -- the inventor of low-cost sanitary napkins for women in rural areas. 

Produced by Twinkle Khanna’s Mrs Funnybones Productions,the film has been a passion project of the couple since she wrote a newspaper column on women’s sanitary health and the stigma associated with it, two years ago.