Pad Man has successfully brought to light the ‘taboo’ topic of menstrual hygiene, being a commercial and critical hit. But its writer and producer Twinkle Khanna is not yet satisfied, for the women in India face such a multitude of problems that portraying just one is not going to be enough. And so, for her next project, she wants to focus on reproductive rights of women 

Recently, she attended the discussion organised by Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and talked about the taboo that exists around menstrual hygiene. When asked if she plans to make any other film like Pad Man that focuses on major women-related issues, she said, “I don’t know about a movie but next I would like to work for the reproductive rights and that would be my next venture.”

“I am interested in stories which have layers to it and which have larger ramification. It’s great for somebody to write a story which is about one person’s life but for me, there have to be layered and the story has to have a message and that’s what I believe in,” she said.

But do films like Pad Man really succeed in changing the Mindset of people? Well, Twinkle certainly hopes so.

“Who would have thought, even five years back, that Balki (Director R. Balki) and Akshay (Kumar) would make people watch a movie on sanitary pads. But we did it and we are really happy right now. Pad Man is more than a movie. I am hoping it’s part of a movement where women are no longer held back or embarrassed by their biology. I think commercials also should stop showing blue liquids on sanitary pads instead of red,” she said.

Well, they certainly should, because these taboos just feed the mindset that finds menstruation to be a hush-hush topic and suppress the much-needed awareness about menstrual hygiene.

“Today, 80 percent of our women who are using cloth or other things should be able to use hygienic products during their days of menstruation. We can’t promise all our school girls iPads unfortunately but we can definitely get them sanitary napkins which they need. When we began PadMan, we were very clear that this is a movie that would initiate a conversation about menstruation and menstrual health upon the collective consciousness of this country and I am really glad to see that happening,” Twinkle said.

H/T: Hindustan Times