CONTEXTUALIZING
KOTEX
Stunning
Indian actress Radhika Apte, who has often been under the scanner
for her bold approach in her films, said anything remotely associated
with human body can turn out to be a problem in India -- a country
that is very ashamed of sexuality and physicality.
Sex
and sexuality are not the only veiled topics of discussion in
the country. Menstruation also finds a spot on the list, and
Radhika is happy that the topic is being handled in a big way
in her upcoming Bollywood film Pad Man -- which tells
a true story of a man's journey to make affordable sanitary
napkins.
Starting
with the poster in the shape of a sanitary napkin, Radhika feels
the film will help overcome the hesitation which surrounds a
natural process that a woman goes through every month.
Despite the critical acclaim coming her way aplenty, Radhika
has often been in news for being uninhibited in her films --
be it an intimate scene with co-star Adil Hussain in Parched
being leaked online, or a clip of a semi-nude Radhika from an
Anurag Kashyap-directed short film making its way on to the
web.
The
actress has never tried to sweep the matter under the rug, and
believes in talking about it instead of opting for silence.
"Yes, there is a whole thing of generations of being awkward
about things, but if you start taking a decision like 'Okay,
I am not going to feel like that', it will make a difference,"
she said.
The
actress said a natural process like menstruation should be spoken
about. "It should not feel awkward touching the pad in
front of people. These are small things with which people have
issues," she said. 
According
to Radhika, it is not only men who have issues talking about
it. "Women also have issues about it. It is all a part
of society and upbringing, and it is high time we changed it,"
she said.
Filmmaker
R. Balki has picked the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham to
narrate through Pad Man, with actors Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor
and Radhika in the lead roles. Pad Man will chronicle
how Muruganantham set out on a mission to make affordable sanitary
napkins after seeing his wife's ordeal and poor menstrual hygiene,
and was shunned by his own family and village.
More
than the end result of finally succeeding in making affordable
sanitary napkins, it is the road that leads to it which makes
for a compelling tale.
From
creating a fake uterus to test out his prototype and raising
eyebrows in the village for washing bloodied clothes in public,
to being ostracized on the suspicion of having a sexual disease
and being possessed by evil spirits -- there are many facets
to Muruganantham's story.
Ask
Radhika about how Pad Man’s story is getting a Bollywood
makeover and she insists things are heading in the right direction.
"All
I can I say is that as you know it is about a Pad Man who is
holding a sanitary napkin on the poster. So there is a lot of
scope for imagination. I am very happy that something like this
is being handled at such a big level in Bollywood," said
the thoroughly modern Radhika.
