PadMan Actor Akshay Kumar: Period's Not Taboo, Ashamed That Women Are Mistreated

New Delhi: Actor Akshay Kumar is all set to feature in PadMan - a film which talks about menstrual hygiene. Of his film, Akshay says that women should get sanitary napkins for free as it is a basic necessity for them. When asked if Akshay wants to reach out to the government to cut down on GST rate of sanitary napkins, Akshay told news agency IANS: "Why just cut down on GST? I think women should have free access to sanitary napkins. This is their basic necessity. It is about menstrual hygiene and not luxury." Akshay also said that it is unfortunate that women are mistreated during those five days of their menstruation period.

"It is unfortunate and I am ashamed to say that 82 per cent women in this country have no access to sanitary pads and they are mistreated," said Akshay.

Pad Man, which is produced by Akshay's wife Twinkle Khanna, is a biopic on Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inventor of low-cost sanitary pad making machines.

"Menstruation is not a sensitive issue," says Akshay. "Firstly, do not call it a sensitive issue. It is a natural process of a human body. It is time to get rid of those taboos attached to it. It is time to treat the issue maturely. Also from the women's end, they should not shy away from talking about the issue, and certainly should not whisper about it," IANS quoted Akshay Kumar as saying.

The Toilet: Ek Prem Katha actor feels that the way festivals like Holi and Diwali are celebrated, people should also "celebrate when a girl meets with her puberty".

"When you celebrate it, the girl who is already going through a physical and hormonal transition, will feel confident and secure. But we excluded our women from the normalcy of life during those five days. So from the first experience, women feel that period is something they should hide. So you know where we should start from," Akshay added.

Directed by R. Balki, PadMan also features actresses Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte. The film will hit the screens on Republic Day.

(With inputs from IANS)