PadMan Movie Review: A Must Watch… Period!

In his last film Toilet-Ek Prem Katha, Akshay Kumar had tackled the issue of open defecation and now, with R. Balki’s Padman, Akshay takes on the subject of menstrual hygiene.

Set in Madhya Pradesh, ‘Padman’ is about Laxmikant Chauhan (Akshay), a worker in a small factory, who is quite innovative by nature. When he discovers that his wife Gayatri (Radhika Apte) uses dirty rags during her menstrual cycle, Laxmikant is appalled and decides to take it upon himself to make cheap sanitary pads for women, much to the repulsion and disgust of the women in his family.

How Laxmikant finally manages to fulfill his mission with the help of Pari (Sonam Kapoor), a woman sympathetic to his cause, forms the rest of the plot.

Akshay, who started his career as an action hero and then ventured into comedy, has proved his mettle at drama too with his past films like Special 26, Airlift, Jolly LLB 2 and ‘Toilet-Ek Prem Katha’, to name a few and the ‘Khiladi’ proves his worth yet again with ‘Padman’. As Laxmikant, Akshay is earnest and honest and carries the film on his brawny shoulders. Radhika, who plays his wife, is decent enough and so is Sonam, who offers able support to the narrative.

As for the film itself, ‘Padman’ is sensitive enough and drives the point home effectively with much-needed doses of humour in the narrative. R. Balki doesn’t waste much time getting to the point in the first half and though the second half is slightly stretched, does justice to the story and the emotions behind the plot. It was indeed a brave decision to make a film on a subject that is considered a taboo across society and yet, Balki manages to weave a beautiful and inspiring underdog story with menstrual hygiene as the backdrop.

However, on the flip side, I was a bit disappointed with the romantic track between Sonam and Akshay, which I felt was not needed at all and proved to be a mere distraction from the meat of the matter. Also, the second half was stretched a bit, in my opinion, but nevertheless, watching Akshay as the Average Joe, who becomes a hero, was such a sheer delight that we are ready to overlook the length. Watch out for Akshay’s speech at the end of the film, which will definitely bring a lump to your throat.

All in all, Padman is a commercial entertainer with a strong message to the society…