Pad Man (film)

The film is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based social activist who revolutionized the concept of menstrual hygiene in rural India by creating a low-cost sanitary napkin machine.[10][11][12] Pad Man was envisioned to be an awareness film without focusing on commercial aspects. The producers' main agenda was to reach out to a wide audience to create awareness and eradicate prevalent superstitions in India surrounding sanitary pads. As with Kumar's previous film, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, he hoped to educate the masses, both women and men, about menstrual hygiene and to stop labelling it as stigma or taboo in society.[13] Furthermore, it was a plea towards politicians to drive their attention towards sanitary pads and making it mandatory across institutions.[14]

The idea to adapt Murugan's life began in 2015 when Twinkle Khanna came across his story while doing a research for a column in The Times of India. Inspired and moved by his persistence and determination, she wrote about him in her book, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad (2016).[14] Simultaneously a screen version of his life was planned, in order to reach out to more audiences, saying "our world is filled with viewers, not readers."[14] Khanna, who also serves as a co-producer on the film, said she was drawn to the project due to its relevant yet underrated subject about menstruation and Muruganantham's determination.[9] She stated that the makers would be taking "creative liberties" with the subject as she had done in her book, to make it "entertaining".[15]

R. Balki was Khanna's first choice to write and direct the film. She had previously seen Balki's work and appreciated his sensitivity in filmmaking.[16]

In November 2017, Sony Pictures became the global distributor for the film.[17]

Akshay Kumar plays Arunachalam Muruganantham, also known as "India's Menstrual Man".[9][14] Kumar was not the first choice to play the role.[18][16] Balki and Khanna wanted Kumar to play the lead[16] and because they thought it would be a game-changing event if Kumar, who the Indian public idolises and men look up to, wore a sanitary pad.[19]

Pad Man is only the second Bollywood film to be granted access to shoot the film inside the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City, after Half Girlfriend in 2016.

Pre-production began in March 2017,[20] and principal photography commenced on 14 March.[21] Filming moved to Delhi in April.[22] Muruganantham worked closely with R. Balki, Kumar and Khanna on set in India, making sure every detail was accurate from the way he built his machine, to how to operate it, even his own posture.[14]

The majority of the film was shot in the small town of Maheshwar beside the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh. After filming ended in India, the team travelled to New York City where pivotal scenes were filmed at the Brooklyn Bridge, in Times Square, and at Jazz at Lincoln Center,[14] as well as at the United Nations headquarters. It is the second Bollywood film to be shot at the site following Half Girlfriend; the Hollywood film The Interpreter was the first film to ever be shot there.[23]

The first trailer was released on 15 December 2017.[32] Soon after, the trailer began trending on Twitter with the hashtag #PadManTrailer. Scenes showing Kumar casually trying to wear a sanitary napkin and handing them to his sister became a trending topic.[33] A second poster was released on 25 December which shows Kumar holding cotton in his hand with words like "Fighter, Genius, Innovation, Unreal Man, No Shame, Real Problem and Passion" written all around. The Times of India called it a "unique poster".[18]

Padman was banned in Kuwait and Pakistan due to its subject revolving around a taboo. Central Board of Film Censors, Pakistan refused to give the No-Objection Certificate to the film and said, "we cannot allow a film whose name, subject and story are not acceptable yet in our society." They disallowed the Pakistani film distributors IMGC and HKC to purchase the film rights and stated that they were "ruining Islamic traditions, history and culture." Film posters were also removed from the local cinemas.[34][35][36] Some Pakistani women have protested these decisions by sending pictures of them holding sanitary pads to the censor board.[37]

Pad Man earned a modest ₹10.26 crore (US$1.4 million) on its opening day in India. Buoyed by good word of mouth, the film witnessed gradual momemtum on its second and third day earning ₹16.11 crore (US$2.3 million) and ₹16.11 crore (US$2.3 million) respectively. In total, it earned ₹40.05 crore (US$5.6 million) nett (US$7.9 million gross) over its opening weekend.[42][43]

Outside India, the film debuted simultaneously with its domestic debut in 5 international markets which generated around an estimated US$1 million for a worldwide opening of US$8.9 million.[43]

In the United States and Canada, Pad Man grossed US$760,000 at an average of US$5,000 per screen from 152 screens. Sony noted that the film debuted above the opening of Kumar's Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, which debuted with US$678,000 from 176 theaters (US$3,852 per theater average).[43]

In China, where Pad Man released on 14 December 2018, the film grossed $5.2 million in its opening weekend, entering the box office charts at number three, below Hollywood film Aquaman and Japanese anime film My Neighbour Totoro.[44] As of 30 December 2018, Pad Man has grossed $10.1 million [39] (₹669.1 million ) in China.[40]

Pad Man also entered Japan, not a traditional market for Indian films, where it grossed ₹48 million .[41]

Kumar receiving the National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues for the film at 66th National Film Awards

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 17 reviews, and an average rating of 6.22/10.[45] Raja Sen of NDTV gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, "Pad Man, which features an extraordinary true-life story, is both a strong film and one that needs to be watched."[46]Hindustan Times rated the film 3/5 stars, writing that "PadMan begins on [a] slow note and drags on for some time before picking up [the] pace. The characters in the supporting cast seem to be in a race for overacting".[47] Anupama Chopra of Film Companion gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "Until the mid-way point, Pad Man has snatches of power and emotion. Some scenes feel like a labored public service announcement and the melodrama gets shrill in places but largely Balki and his co-writer Swanand Kirkire keep the story moving. Humour is used cleverly."[48] Rajeev Masand of News 18 gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and said, "The writing, by Balki and Swanand Kirkire, starts out sharp and funny, but quickly becomes heavy-handed and repetitive."[49]