New Delhi, Delhi, India
The team of Pad Man is planning a special screening for Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. The young Pakistani activist had expressed her solidarity with the message of menstrual hygiene earlier and the film's director, R Balki, wants to show the film to her.
"What can I say about Malala coming forward to support our film? We are blessed and honoured. It is voices like her which would carry our message in Pad Man forward. Menstruation must not be swept under the carpet any more. And we need powerful voices like Malala`s to carry the message forward," said Balki to a news agency.
He revealed plans of showing Pad Man to Malala. "We are definitely showing it to her at the earliest, as soon as the logistics are worked out."
Based on the real-life story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, Pad Man narrates the story of a village man who invented a machine that produces low-cost sanitary napkins.
Balki stated that he was initially hesitant to take up the film as he doesn't believe in making films based on real people.
"I don`t like making films about people who exist especially those who are alive, as this puts tremendous pressure on the filmmaker to replicate the real person without offense to anyone, I would rather go into lives that I conceive especially for cinema rather than a life that pre-exists."
But then something made Balki change his mind.
"I decided to make an exception this time. I decided to do Pad Man because the story of the man who thought of making the sanitary pad affordable to the middle class really inspired me. When Twinkle Khanna came to me with the idea, I was hooked."