Twinkle Khanna

Twinkle Khanna might be one of the producers of PadMan – a film which speaks strongly in favour of female hygiene – she feels that women should not use menstruation as an excuse to go on a leave, reports news agency IANS. (READ: Anushka Sharma, Varun Dhawan drop the Sui Dhaaga and hold a sanitary napkin for the #PadManChallenge)

"I was a part of a show wherein a lady said she runs more when she is on her period, so that no one can tell her to sit at home because she is weak," Twinkle said.

"A lot of people think women should stay at home, so why give them an excuse to stop women from doing anything. If there is too much pain, then one can take an off just like they do for any other sickness like a stomach ache. Women should not make period a reason to take a leave," she added.

Twinkle was in New Delhi on Monday to promote PadMan with her husband Akshay Kumar, who plays the title role in the film.

About how she got the idea to make a film on the subject, the mother of two said, "I was doing some research and reading some columns on menstruation and I came across Muruganantham's story. Immediately, it gripped me because this was an incredible story. There were two parts to this story. One part was menstruation where a man was doing something for his wife."

"It was also a story about innovation where a man was not limited by his educational qualifications or his lack of proficiency in English and he goes on to become an innovator. So even if we want to give a message across, we have to give it in an entertaining way. If it is not going to interest people then they will not watch the movie," she further said.

PadMan, directed by R Balki, is inspired from the life of Tamil-Nadu based social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, who revolutionised the concept of female hygiene by creating low-cost sanitary napkins machine. The film is slated to release on February 9.

(With inputs from IANS)