February 15, 2017
Malala Yousafzai had expressed her solidarity with the
message of menstrual hygiene in R. Balkis latest directorial "Pad Man". Plans
are afoot to show the film to the Nobel Peace Prize winner, says the director.
"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.
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."
For
Balki, "Pad Man", which ia about the man who invented the economical sanitary
pad, is a leap into the unknown that he was initially reluctant to take.
"Firstly, this is a story of a real-life character Arunachalam Muruganantham.
The fact that he really exists initially daunted me.
"I don't like making
films about people who exist specially those who are alive, as this puts
tremendous pressure on the filmmaker to replicate the real person without
offence to anyone, I would rather go into lives that I conceive specially 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."