Padman

There's a montage sometime in the first hour where the central character approaches women from different walks of life but finds it difficult to convince even one of them to try out his indigenous product. Reason? The touchy subject. Padman aspires to break this stigma associated with the subject of menstrual hygiene. From a delivery point of view, it is roaring succes.

Akshay Kumar plays Lakshmi, a simple, uneducated man living with his mother, two sisters, and newly-wedded wife, Gayatri. A bit of an oddball in his thought processes, he makes it his life goal to produce low-cost sanitary napkins when he learns about the hard-up conditions that Gayatri and the women around him including his sisters, who have recently hit puberty live in, when it comes to menstruation. The religious aspect of the issue - where menstruating women are supposed to isolate themselves and live outside the house during the cycle (mostly in rural India) because they are considered impure - also bothers him, which is why Padman looks like it has been written with a complete contemplation of the issue. And, for a person, who has been exposed to high-octane, mindless Bollywood potboilers, this can come as a surprise.

Padman, therefore, is a critique of our times when a technically developed country like India that aspires to be digital-ready struggles with something as crucial and necessary as menstrual sanitation. Lakshmi's attempts to educate the people around him and fight the stigma that is stuck like the plague is much more important than to invent a low-cost napkin that is both efficient and cheap. Despite being a little bit successful in the latter department, Lakshmi continuously struggles to remove the preconceptions about menstruation that people have and which they are not ready to talk about. This hesitance to converse about an issue that is tied to a woman's innate health is alarming, and Padman tries to preach about that. Of course, it's a preach, but a social film cannot do without it if it intends to send the point across. Considering that director R Balki is targeting rural India with this film, I am personally content and confident that it will tick.

It is because of not just the construction of the sanitary pad but also the construction of the screenplay that this works. Padman excels in all departments, also giving intermediate knowledge about napkins if people don't know about it already. A well-written plot that reminds us of Shree Narayan Singh's 2017 hit drama on a similar social issue, 'Toilet - Ek Prem Katha', also starring Kumar, it moves ahead without hitting a bump. Of course, there are sequences that are sometimes cringe-worthy and sometimes impossible, but director Balki has evidently taken a lot of cinematic liberty, which is mandatory for a film that captures the entire essence of a social predicament such as this. The fact that Padman is based on the real-life story of the Indian inventor, Arunachalam Muruganantham, would make the viewer more confident and supportive of the structure. It's well-written, has good amounts of humour and drama, if not melodrama, and hits the right notes with its messages. With a score that supports the inspirational message, Padman must be viewed on the big screen and be marketed through word of mouth as it demands greater viewership.

Akshay Kumar is phenomenal and looks like he came directly out of the aforementioned film's sets. He carries the whole film on his shoulders and never once shows an inkling of restfulness. If there is a character that I feel an actor has done complete justice to in any film in the past few months, it'd be that of Lakshmi. Equally enchanting is the supremely talented Radhika Apte's performance who seems to be made just for the role of the village wife, something that we previously saw her do in Kabali (2016), and Parched (2015) and Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015) before that. There's not a single dull moment in Padman, thanks to the performances of the lad and the supporting cast. Sonam Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan grace the screen for some time and do a decent job, but it is the supporting actors that make the whole broth tastier.

Similar to how we last saw in R S Prasanna's Shubh Mangal Savdhan (2017), another highlight of Padman is in its dialogues and general writing. Talking about a touchy subject like menstruation is already an exercise, but to make an entire feature film about it, without hitting the awkward and/or obscene point even once, is something of a marvel. Director-writer Balki and co-writer Swanand Kirkire need to be appreciated for the sensitivity that is visible throughout the film, which could have been turned into a vulgar mess had it been executed by some of the more energetic yesteryear Bollywood filmmakers. Padman excels for a lot of reasons, but tailoring it for a conservative audience is one of the major ones.

Padman is refreshing because it serves several things on a single plate and yet manages to not overload it. Lakshmi's relentless attitude towards innovation makes this film much more than something about a social cause. Although India is known as the innovators' world, we hardly see such immaculate representation of the same on the silver screen. I don't care much more for the promotional angle of this film, courtesy the current ruling government in India, but as something that is important to mankind, Padman does deserve applause for its pure concoction and filmmaking brilliance. There couldn't be a better time to release this film that even has shades of chivalry (which, spare me the rolling eye, is no longer dead), feminism, and women empowerment. Lakshmi's dream must have taken him to a lot of places, but his underlying thought to not commercialize his invention and instead work for the greater good is something that makes Padman much more effective and deserving of attention.

There's a good chance that if one can relate to the subject, tears are going to make a guest appearance at least once in the 140-minute running time. But, even if that does not happen, it will touch your heart through its warm characterization, entrepreneurship, and the sheer ability to pump your beat up. Padman is perhaps R Balki's best film so far, something that I would even go as far as to list in Kumar's filmography as well. TN.

I watched it on Friday, definitely it is wonderful movie.

PADMAN, the movie full of motivation, is about India's one of the real Superhero. Necessity is the mother of innovation is said somewhere, here it is implemented.

Padman is a movie which has romance, comedy, serious as well as heart touching moments distributed equally. This is a brave topic to come up with so hats off to Twinkle Khanna, R Balki and the entire team. Special hats off to Mr. Arunachalam Murugnatham for his extraordinary contribution to the society.

The film has many moments which make us laugh naturally and its not forced humor. Chemistry between Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte is also good. The problem of unhygienic sanitation habit is shown in a bold way and its seriousness can be felt while watching the film. The film has some emotional moments when Padman fails as well as when Padman comes to know that his first Pad which was tested was successful. Best part of the movie includes the scene before interval which reminds of Toilet Ek Prem Katha scene. Mr. Arunachalam is given perfect tribute also in the starting credits as well as in the end which is a good part. The machine making is shown which is a very good part. BGM is very nice. Music of the film is fairly well and justified.

Flaws in the film, I found 2 flaws. This film is spanned over some 8-10 years they could have shown some age difference in the looks of the characters it felt as if everything is happening in the span of 1-2 years only. 2nd flaw is the romantic angle in the later part of the film could have been avoided nevertheless it was also justified but it was looking like extra part in the film.

Talking about the performances, Akshay Kumar as Lakshmikant Chauhan is fantabulous, one of the best performance of his career. Its another feather to his collection and it should not be a surprise if this act is considered for a national award. He has nailed it in every scene may it be demonstration of his machine or monologue in the end or testing pad on himself or making of the machine. Radhika Apte, has given amazing performance, she is having some amazing emotional scenes and she has performed beautifully. She perfectly suits in a village woman role with a narrow minded thinking. Sonam Kapoor as Pari has her moments in the film. She is the hero along with Lakshmikant. She has some amazing dialogues in her account. Other performances of Lakshmi's mother and sisters as well as 2 friends and Pari's father are also remarkable. And then there is the one and only Amitabh Bachchan, R Balki's favourite in the special appearance. Its just 2-3 minutes role but he stole the show in his own style. Amazing dialogues by him in just those 2-3 minutes. There are some clap worthy and whistle-able scenes too.

R Balki's direction is classic. This is his personal best along with Paa. The camerawork is awesome. Locations in the film are not much important according to film but still Maheshwar is beautiful and it captures true village environment. Editing could have been a bit better but its good there is no unnecessary nuisance in the film.

Overall the film is enjoyable, entertaining yet giving a very strong message and motivation. There is no logical error in the film as a normal audience and there is no scene which makes family audience feel awkward. There is no boring moment in the film which makes us feel that when is it ending. Its a motivating film after Dangal. Please don't miss it as we don't have many good movies coming every year.

A beautiful movie with a strong message. Akshay Kumar hits a bullseye again and shines as a winner with his wonderful and effortless acting. He is lovable and takes the movie to the next level. The story as we all know is very inspiring but the execution is what makes it believable and entertaining. R Balki has done a good job and the movie does not bore you even a bit. Radhika Aapte as always delivers a strong performance. Sonam Kapoor is fine and has performed better than all her previous movies. Highly recommend everyone to watch this movie.

R. Balki cooked this dish with his own recipe alongside Swanand Kirkire, adding multiple flavors handpicked from Balki's arsenal of trademark templates. PC Sreeram's cinematography is god level for it does not have any kind of cutting edge CGI in it but has simple and subtle colours and excellent frames. The costumes, the art-work, and editing are definitely added assets to the film. Amit Trivedi's score is lively and suits Balki's taste perfectly. Of course, Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte performed really well but the best surprise for me was Sonam's character in this film. Really had a touching moment at the very end. On a whole, its educating and entertaining.