“Till date, close to 82% women still do not
use sanitary pads, instead they opt for straw, ash, or sand,” said Hindi film
industry’s Superstar Mr. Akshay Kumar who visited the Symbiosis International
(Deemed University) campus at Vimannagar, today, to for a panel discussion on
‘Cinema as a medium of social consciousness and cultural transformation’.
Mr. Kumar spoke of his upcoming movie ‘Pad Man’
which is inspired by a true story of innovator Mr, Arunachalam Muruganantham, who is well-known as ‘India’s Menstrual Man’. Appreciating the journey of Mr
Arunachalam, Akshay said, “It is a commendable feat that Mr Arunachalam invented
an easy-to-use machine worth Rs 60,000 for producing low-cost sanitary pads.
His machine has created jobs for women in rural India.”
While addressing the gathering, Mr. Akshay
said, “In the olden days, women were asked not to step in the kitchen, so that they
could take rest during the menstruation cycle. But over the years, people
condemned this as a taboo and banned women from having pickle or touching idols
and so forth. Menstrual cycle is not a taboo. It is a natural occurrence and it
is time we all accept and embrace it. I personally feel, sanitary pads should
be made available free of cost.”
Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro-Chancellor,
Symbiosis International (Deemed University) thanked Mr. Akshay for choosing
Symbiosis as a platform to promote his movie, “It is good that commercial
actors like Mr. Akshay are producing movies with a social cause.”
Dr. Ruchi Jaggi, Director, Symbiosis
Institute of Media and Communication, said, “When
a mainstream commercial actor talks about a subject like a menstruation, it is
symbolic of progressive cinema. An entertaining film with social consciousness
at its core can instill sensitivity in audiences in extremely effective ways
because of its earnest storytelling rather than preachy messaging.”
The Ambassador of Gambia Her
Excellency H.E.M.S. Jainaba Jagne was highly impressed with the plot of the
movie and stated, “It is just not in India, but across the world that people
need to be educated about the menstrual cycle. It is not a taboo, it is a
natural occurrence. No one would have been born, if women did not have periods.
I looking forward to broadcast this movie in Gambia as well.”
While highlighting the
challenges he faced, Mr. Kumar said that “Pad-Man is not one of the regular
commercial movies. A lot of people were skeptical about it. People kept telling
me who will watch it. What will people say? One time, while addressing a
gathering the moment I spoke about menstrual cycles, there was pin-drop
silence. This has to change and it is a collective effort put in by all of us.”
Mr. Kumar pointed out that the
onus is on each citizen to bring about cultural transformation by saying, “I am
glad my wife, Twinkle Khanna came up with this movie idea. We can’t wait for
the government to make changes for us.
Rather, be the change you wish to see.”
This event was organized by Symbiosis
Institute of Media and Communication (SIMC). Approximately 700 students and
faculty member from across multiple Symbiosis institutes attended this event.
Akshay Kumar
- 03:38
Superstar Akshay Kumar visits Symbiosis International (Deemed University) campus, Vimannagar
“Till date, close to 82% women still do not use sanitary pads, instead they opt for straw, ash, or sand,” said Hindi film industry’s ...
