Bollywood breaks social taboo on Menstruation

By; Manan Chopra, INN, @infodeaofficial, Delhi,

India, a country where only 55% of young girls think of menstruation as a natural process and only 23% know that the blood comes from the uterus, has been struggling to break the stereotypes among the people and  has fought a battle in literal terms to make people understand that it is a natural state of a woman which is not obviously something any woman has to be ashamed of or make it a taboo by addressing women as “impure” during their period.
Media and Bollywood being the key players to spread awareness on certain social issues have made equal efforts in making “menstruation” a point of open discussion on various platforms where they have put forward their views on ways to cope periods normally and the need to educate and discuss the biological cycle a woman goes through from her puberty till the time she turns old.
Many women from the film industry came up to talk about the social issue in public and told the masses that it is natural among women and should be dealt in the same manner rather than creating a fuss about it. Kriti Sanon in an interview said, “A shocking 58% of urban women from the southern states of India do not touch pickle during their periods, more so 60% of women across South India agree that it’s embarrassing to watch sanitary napkins commercials while watching TV with the family. I want to encourage & urge all these women to go forth and defy regressive traditions in their pursuit of success.”
While attending an event called 'Celebrating Menstrual Hygiene for all Girls, for all Women in Lucknow, actress Kareena Kapoor was all praise for the girls who were promoting menstrual health and hygiene. The actress said, "I'd like to see this issue being talked about in the media, on websites, not behind closed doors. God created this, periods are natural. So, how can we say women are impure during their periods? I have a 30 days schedule in a month. We do not stop working but use the right products, keep healthy and clean. Why should others, especially girls, be termed dirty or compelled to miss school?”

Taking a step forward, the Khiladi of Bollywood industry Akshay Kumar along with his wife, actor turned writer Twinkle Khanna who is all set to release ‘Pad Man’ on the social cause inspired by the real-life story of Arunachalam Muruganatham. The couple was present in Delhi for the press conference and promotions along with the actress Radhika Apte and renowned director of the film R Balki.
Based on a short story ‘The Sanitary Man of Sacred Land from her book ‘The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad’ and produced by Twinkle Khanna, the movie also features Sonam Kapoor in a significant role.  Akshay Kumar playing Arunachalam Muruganantham, ‘India's Menstrual Man’. said, “I feel like, after the release of this movie, there will be no hesitation in people about this biological cycle. I hope this film will be successful to bring a change in the society.  And I would request our government to make sanitary napkins free of cost in rural areas in our country.”

Further, he added, “People should be aware of this natural cycle. 82% women in our country don’t use pads, I am sure and very much confident that there will be a good change in people after watching this film.”
Twinkle Khanna stated, “My biggest challenge was to convince Akshay for this movie and it took 9 months to convince him for the same, it’s a strong film, and I will congratulate the director of the film for making it happen for us.”    The music of the film has been composed by Amit Trivedi while the lyrics have been
written by Kausar Munir. Featured under the banner of Columbia Pictures, Mrs. Funnybones Movies, this menstruation – based awareness movie is set to release on 9th of February.

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