“Necessity is the mother of all invention,” goes the famous saying. But sometimes, Empathy is the father of some greater inventions. And that goes a much longer way, than necessity does.
Empathy is defined as ‘the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.’ Most times it is when you are incapable of understanding what or why the other person is going through, but you see the bigger picture and choose to understand that whatever situation, the other is in discomfort or in pain of some sort which is enough to stir emotions in you. And it is in those moments when you are essentially choosing to empathize with them, instead judging them.
I have come across very few people in my life who are capable of being empathetic, which is why it makes for such a rare find and thus being in economic terms, a commodity of extremely high value which is, as a result, priceless.
Padman is based on the real life story (struggle) of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social entrepreneur from Coimbatore Tamil Nadu, who is the inventor of low cost sanitary napkins machine, and has garnered accolades from around the globe, for his efforts for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation and breaking the taboo around it, in rural India.
A few years ago, an article had popped up on my news feed that said, ‘Sanitary napkins for as little as Rs.2! Meet the Inventor of inexpensive sanitary napkins who is breaking stereotypes and fighting taboo in rural India.’ I still remember being spellbound after reading about how he came around to doing this, what triggered it and the struggles and hardships he had to overcome, to fight a battle for a problem that was not of his kind, to begin with. His only fault was that he couldn’t just sit there and empathize with the woman who suffered in silence. He had to do something to make sure that a natural process as monthly menstruation cycle of a woman should paralyze and make her feel, that she was impure. Especially, when it is the foundation to giving life.
Akshay Kumar plays Arunachalam Muruganantham, as Lakshmikant Chauhan who is brilliant at his job as a welder and who after getting married is unable to tolerate the extent of hardships, a woman goes through in rural India, to cope with her monthly menstruation cycle which, is the result of the unconditional love he has for his wife Gayatri, played by the very talented Radhika Apte. However, there are scenarios in life where empathy is present, but the person it is being directed towards, doesn’t want to be understood because of the upbringing, environment and more often than less, a certain taboo around it making it even more difficult to communicate.
R Balki has directed this inspirational biography and does a praiseworthy job of keeping it as crisp and to the point, as much as Bollywood possibly can. The film has a good pace, and moves quickly with the story line covering all aspects Muruganantham’s struggle with the right dose of emotions and extremely powerful screenplay and dialogues. The second half shifts into third gear with ease and cruises into the fourth as Sonam Kapoor plays the empowered Pari, is a delight to watch on screen proving once again, that she is not just beauty but is packed with equal amount of talent as well.
Akshay Kumar delivers another power packed performance leaving no stone unturned to bring this story through to the viewers, putting in an honest, heart felt effort that comes across and directly connects with audience from the first scene. Radhika Apte is so refreshing and bold in her portrayal of an average village damsel that in spite of her character being the victim, she somehow comes through as strong, independent woman who has accepted the societal norms as they are delivering a flawless act.
The USP of the film is definitely its title, the fashion it has been presented in and the direct comparison it makes with the comic book superheroes to a real life hero that is significant in today’s time, who has made the lives of millions of woman unbelievably easier, that it changes their life in a way that it can never go back to the same in a remarkably good manner shaping up and sowing the seeds of progressive thinking.
The movie is definitely food for thought and I’d say has successfully been able to portray the taboo around this subject in a manner that will strike a chord with its audience compelling them to think if not encourage them to be more empathetic to the people in general in their lives. My most favorite aspect of the movie is that the essence of the story is kept intact from the beginning to the end not once deviating in unnecessary story line drift, while keeping it surprising light and in some cases, bringing out the comedy in the tragedy of the situation, keeping the drama and social heaviness in this kind of a subject minimal.
Watch the movie as it is worth both your time as well as money making it a feature film that has everything going for it from the script, story, screenplay, dialogues and even the songs that have been sprinkled just the right amount. Dedicating this review to the real Padman of India, Arunachalam Muruganantham and to the few extraordinary men in my life who are my real life Superheroes who have had a noteworthy impact on my life as they encouraged, supported and had faith in me and my abilities, fueling my empowerment and making me the person I am, today.
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