Mumbai
February 2, 2018
Actress Radhika Apte, who plays a key role in Akshay
Kumar-starrer "Pad Man", says the menstruation taboo has not only existed among
men but also among women who are conditioned for years not to talk about the
natural process openly.
"Pad Man", based on the story of a real-life
hero, addresses the issue of menstrual hygiene and is aimed at creating
awareness about it.
Asked if the film can bring any change in the
society, Radhika told IANS: "I think the taboo attached to menstruation is not
only among men, but women as well. It is happening for years. Even women feel
uncomfortable to talk about it openly.
"Mothers taught their daughters
how not to talk about it openly, not to go to the kitchen or not to enter the
temple. So it does not just exist among men but women as well.
"Though I
think one film cannot bring all the changes to a practice that is happening for
ages, if people start talking about menstruation comfortably, be aware of the
importance of menstruation hygiene, it would be more than enough for us. And it
is also about the journey of an individual who struggled through his life for a
cause. It is an incredible story."
"Pad Man", releasing on Friday, is
based on the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who brought about a near
revolution by introducing a machine capable of producing low-cost sanitary pads.
As an artiste, Radhika is proud to be a part of a poignant story like this.
Starting her acting career in theatre, Radhika has acted not only in
Bollywood films but also in various regional language films ranging from those
in Bengali and Tamil to Telugu and Malayalam. She has been appreciated by
critics and audience for some of her fine performances in films like "Rakht
Charitra", "Badlapur", "Parched", "Phobia", "Manjhi - The Mountain Man" and
"Kabali".
Asked if putting in so much work for her characters in every
film at times exhausts her, Radhika said: "I like to work hard for a character
that I play. I enjoy the process of doing my homework. It does not exhaust me as
it is enriching. For a performing artiste, it is the biggest high."
This
year, the actress is working on several projects including films like "Bazaar",
"Bhavesh Joshi", "Shoot the Piano Player" and web series "Sacred Games".
Does she find any difference shooting for digital content from a feature film?
"I see no difference when I work in a web series and a film. There is
absolutely no difference when we are shooting on set. It is just that a web
series takes a few more days than a film," she said.
Since the actress
has worked with some of the finest film directors of the country, asked how it
helps her in her craft, she said "For an actor, a lot of the time it depends on
the director, the writer and editors because it is ultimately a collaborative
art. But then there are sometimes, that director gives an actor freedom to bring
their creative contribution to the character."
Radhika has worked with
various directors -- Sriram Raghavan, Prakash Raj, R Balki, Leena Yadav and
Anurag Kashyap -- whose world of cinema is sometimes polls apart.
"The
idea is to collaborate with different directors, working with different creative
energy, and different perspectives of people... That is how we create something
new. The job of an actor is to match up with a different creative energy."